A Darker Path
by TheReaperCometh
Summary: As the saying goes: when it rains - it pours. After a series of tragedies befall class 3-E, a devastated Nagisa and Karma vow to become master assassins under the tutelage of a guilt-stricken Karasuma. "Blades are meant to be bloodied, as that is their destiny. For what is a knife's purpose, if not to cut, stab, and pierce?"" (POV Nagisa/Karma/Karasuma) see prologue for details :p
1. Chapter 1

**A Darker Path**

By; TheReaperCometh

WARNING: This story contains mature themes, and will touch on sensitive topics such as the loss of loved ones, suicide, and self harm. If that sounds a bit too heavy for you, don't worry: this story isn't exclusively depressing! Oh and some chapters will contain gore. In fact, whether or not some chapters should actually be M rated is debatable. If after reading this, you still choose to continue - I commend you! Now follow me, as I drag you down this darker path :)

Description: After a series of horrible tragedies befall the students of class 3-E, both Karma and Nagisa find themselves in a lamentable and lonely reality, as they tumble down the rabbit hole of insanity. Recovering from their trauma under the watchful eye of a guilt-stricken Karasuma, they vow to become master assassins in order to enact vengeance on the world. They both know that they only have each other to rely on now, during their pursuit of revenge down a darker path.

 **Also: I can't be the only one who was disappointed that Nagisa decided to become a teacher instead of an assassin XD. So I hope you enjoy! Oh, and I'm trying to keep everyone true to their original characters, so if you see anyone do or say anything that you believe is OOC, let me know! (Below is simply a short prologue, mainly a recap of a pertinent event from from the actual story. The beginning of the next chapter will also be a bit of a recap before getting into this original story)**

 **POV Nagisa**

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"Now then, have you decided what you'd like to be, Nagisa-kun?" Koro-sensei asks me, his beady eyes boring into my icy blue ones, as if trying to ascertain my response before I even open my mouth. I hesitate for a moment. I have such a talent for assassination… is this really the right choice? I direct my gaze to the floor, avoiding eye contact. I gulp and take a deep breath.

"Koro-sensei…"

I pause. Is this truly the right path? The proper target for my blade? Koro-sensei says nothing: he simply continues to stare at me expectantly. Oddly enough, I find his ceaseless smile to be reassuring in this moment of uncertainty. No, this is definitely the right path for me. Time to cast away my doubts and just say it!

"I'm going to be a teacher!"

There. I said it. Koro-sensei gives a small nod of approval and I continue with a shaky, yet stable breath.

"I may not be fast like you. I may not be invincible like you. I may not be smart like you… but I want to be a teacher like you!"

Yes. this is the right choice. The best use of my blade. Korosensei is silent for a few seconds. I hold my breath. Suddenly, his face lights up, an orange circle of approval forming around his face.

"That's good! It suits you well! You, and everyone else, are born with a talent which you will someday lose…"

I look at him confusedly, and he lovingly places a tentacle on my shoulder.

"Youth. So keep swimming forward, never stopping! Before this talent, your youth, escapes you!"

I let out a sigh of relief. I smile lovingly at koro-sensei, the best teacher I've ever had. The first person to actually see me.

"Hai! See you tomorrow, Koro-sensei!" I beam happily.

"Hai, hai. See you tomorrow, Nagisa kun."

I turn around and leave, a wide smile on my face. Me. A teacher. Not only will it put my "skills" to good use, it will also appease my mother. And having actually voiced my decision out loud to korosensei, formalizes it in an indescribable way. Feeling good about my choice, I exit class 3-E. I turn around and face the quaint building. I can't help but admire the irony this classroom represents: a place where those deemed failures, the unworthy, are isolated in to serve as an example of what not be like for the rest of the student population - yet it ended up creating some of the most brilliant and talented students in the entire school. What I once saw as a dilapidated, old "End class", I now recognize as a warm and inviting home. E-class is my family. We've been through so much together. All the failed assassination attempts, the near-death experiences, the school festivals, our mid-term failure: and of course our triumph during the finals, and victories against A class. We've all grown so much as a team, as well as individually. Suddenly a flickering pain shoots through my heart and I wince, clutching my chest with both hands, as an ugly epiphany pierces my soul. One way or another, this amazing class, this inseparable family, will come to an end in just a couple more months. I'll make them count. No matter how it ends, either with koro-sensei's death or simple graduation, I will make these last two months as memorable as possible! Satisfied with my plan, I turn around and begin heading home. I feel a faint tug of doubt at the back of my mind, like a small child tugging on my sleeve… a doubt regarding, what exactly, I can't quite place. For now, I'll choose to ignore it. Now is not the time for sadness. I must keep swimming forward...

 **A/N: I just needed a quick setup before I truly begin my story. Feel free to leave a review any time throughout this story, I'm always open for criticism! (Just try not to tear me a new one X_X) Thanks for reading, and I hope you enjoy the story!**


	2. Chapter 2

**A Darker Path**

By: TheReaperCometh

 **A/N: Now the actual story begins :p. I'm making these first couple chapters fun and (hopefully) humorous, before it gets more serious, because I wanted to have some fun messing around with the characters (particularly Nagisa and Karma :p) before I buckle down and write with some grit. I hope you enjoy, and feel free to write a review. The start of this chapter will briefly go over a pertinent event from the show before flowing into my original piece.**

 **Chapter 1**

 **POV Nagisa**

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" Karasuma-sensei, you have to let us go! There are so many things that we still want to do with Korosensei! So please, let us g-"

In the blink of an eye Karasuma lunges forward, grabs me by the face, and slams me to the ground. I'm too shocked to react. All the other students' protests fall silent in surprise: even loud-mouthed Terasaka's words get caught in his throat. Looming over me, Karasuma booms:

"Listen Nagisa! You know I can't let you kids go! You've come a long way, but you've had your chance!"

He removes his hand from my mouth and grabs me by the collar, wrenching me back up until my face is inches away from his. His dark eyes narrow and he stares directly into mine. He's been our teacher for so long that I've forgotten how truly intimidating and imposing Karasuma could be. I'm nearly petrified, the only thing I can manage to do in Karasuma's vice grip is gulp inaudibly.

"Don't give me a hard time with this Nagisa…"

He releases me and starts walking away before stopping at the exit as he turns to a soldier:

"Arrange an escort for these kids"

"Yes sir!"

The two of them exit the tent.

"That bastard! Who does he think he is?!"

Terasaka verbalizes everyone's sentiments. Karma, who had been silent in the back corner of the tent the entire time leaning against some crates, sneers

"When all's said and done, Karasuma is just a government lapdog"

We all fall silent as the truth of that statement falls over us like a thick smog. We all feel equally betrayed and outraged by Karasuma's misplaced loyalty. I wrack my brain, desperately trying to think of something, anything, that could help us overcome this development…

"Wait!" i cry out, my voice cutting through the permeating silence.

Kayano jumps, and many other students are visibly startled by my sudden outburst. Karma raises an eyebrow.

"Karasuma-sensei just said - very clearly - 'don't give me a hard time', right?"

I glance around the room before I continue, as a few of my classmates' faces light up with realization.

"Yeah, so what?" Terasaka grumbles. He was never one to catch on quickly.

"Don't you remember what karasuma-sensei told us before? That if he was ever having a hard time, he knew he could count on us: that he trusted us wholeheartedly?"

Now everyone's face shows clear understanding. Even Terasaka's slow, clunky gears are beginning to turn. I look around, and everyone's expression conveys relief and hope.

"Hoooh? The lapdog found a loophole in his leash? Great work, detective Nagisa. So what now?" Karma retorts from the back.

I scratch at my blue hair. I have no idea. Obviously our goal is to reach Korosensei, but how?

Isogai steps forward. "The deadline isn't for a few days. I suggest we regroup and make a plan over the next few days. We have lots of time. We have to put everything we've learned this year into practice for this, to make Korosensei and Karasuma-sensei proud!"

Everyone cheers. A few idolizing "what a man" comments can be heard echoing around the tent. I smile. Nobody can rally the class as effectively as Isogai. He's an intrinsic member of our class. But then again, we all are. None of us would be where we are today had it not been for the efforts of each and every student of class E. The soldier walks back in and directs us out, and we are all escorted home shortly after.

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Boy, what an exhausting day. I enter my house, and with an exasperated sigh, I heave my bag onto a chair. Mom will undoubtedly reprimand me later, but I'm too tired to care right now. I walk into the bathroom and strip my clothes off, throwing them in a haphazard pile. As I get into the shower, I untie my hair. I look in the mirror and purse my lips. I really wish mom would let me cut my hair. Although, I'm so used to having longer hair I don't even know if I would like shorter hair. I begin lathering my body, cringing at the softness of my skin: I always get flak at school for my girlish appearance, especially from Karma… but I can hardly deny their jokes. I have even less hair on my body than most of the girls in my class, and for some unknown reason I happen to look great in girls' clothes. I feel my cheeks burn as I recall Karma showing me the wallpaper for his phone the other day: a picture of me wearing that girl's outfit on the night we infiltrated the hotel in Okinawa to put a stop to Takaoka's revenge. He sent it to Nakamura, and now they both have it as their wallpaper. Ahhhhhhhh! Somebody kill me. I sigh and get out of the shower. I examine myself in the mirror. I also have very little muscle, which doesn't help portray my manliness, and serves only to accentuate my 'cuteness'. Before I get depressed, I better think of some positive things about myself. I do have a very good cardio, I'm certainly one of the most agile people in the class, and I have the most impressive and explosive bloodlust out of anyone.

Er, is that a positive trait?

I finish my self reflection and get dressed, exiting the bathroom and flopping on my bed. I check my phone and my jaw drops: 164 new messages. Seems the rest of the class has already started scheming up battle plans… sort of. Upon closer inspection, I notice that the chat seems more like a warzone than a conglomerate of assassins working together.

Terasaka's sending messages in all caps, saying "WE SHOULD JUST GO UP THERE AND CRUSH ANYONE WHO WOULD DARE OPPOSES US" followed by a few fist and flame emojis. Karma is, well, being Karma, telling Terasaka to leave the thinking to the people who are actually capable of doing so, and that he should just 'be a good boy' and let the adults talk.

Nakamura is having a completely separate conversation about shopping with kanzaki and kurahashi. Okajima is begging the girls to send him… er, photos. Hara responds to him with some choice words. Okajima sends some crying emojis and goes silent. Probably for the best. A few are actually talking about tactics and plans. Through all the chaos I can make out a relevant conversation occurring between takebayashi, Itona, Isogai, and Ritsu.

I'm getting a headache. I think I'll log off for tonight. Just as I'm about to leave, I see Kayano send a message "WAIT A MINUTE! WHERE IS NAGISA?". All other messages stop flowing. Sigh. I just want to go to sleep, but I guess I should say something now…

Just then, a text from Okajima appears: (to who it was directed to, I have no idea) "Haha ya I wish I could get some nudez from Hayami. U think chiba would b able to hook me up? Theyre pretty close right? Haha dont worry, none of the girls will see these messages, theyre all wrapped up in their own conversations, and the chat is flying by so quickly theyll never notice!"

Silence. He really chose the wrong time to text that message.

Hayami sends a '...'.

"Shiiiiiit mb" Okajima sends.

"Can we get some F's in the chat for Okajima" Karma sends. I stifle a laugh.

A handful of respectful F's from all the boys in the class appear.

Every girl in the class simultaneously texts: "OKAJIMAAAAAAAAAA". I laugh. There's no hope for him now: the girls will destroy him. I'll have to thank him before he gets assassinated though, because everybody forgot about my absence. I yawn, and shut off my phone. I lay in bed, twirling my long blue locks. Despite my exhaustion, I can't seem to fall asleep. I'm plagued with an indescribable sense of... dread, gnawing at the back of my mind. I can't quite put my finger on the source.

I glance at my phone to check the time. 1 a.m. Another 85 notifications. I finally succumb to my fatigue, my last conscious thought being how grateful I am to have so many great friends. Tomorrow is a new day… for everyone except Okajima, who probably won't live through it.

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I wake up feeling groggy. There's a dry, stale taste in my mouth. My tongue feels like sandpaper against the roof of my mouth. I smack my chapped lips together and slowly sit up, catching a glimpse of myself in the mirror. Jeez. My blue hair is a mess right now. I realize I forgot to dry my hair last night. Tufts are sticking up everywhere, and my hair is curled at the ends at shoulder-level because I had been twirling it nervously trying to get to sleep. What a disaster. I glance at the clock and my eyes widen in surprise. It's 11:30?! I check my phone and see 156 notifications. The most recent one from Isogai, at 10:00 a.m: "okay, just to clarify for everyone: we r meeting at the school library at 12 p.m today".

Shit! I better eat quickly, I barely have time for a bowl of cereal. I shoot out of bed and race to the kitchen in nothing but my boxers. Eh, I'll just throw something on quickly after breakfast. Just as I'm about to sit down, I hear the doorbell ring. What the hell? In my frenetic panic, I race to the door and throw it open… and there stands Kayano, with Nakamura and Karma. I stare at them for a second.

"What are you guys doing h-"

Kayano suddenly looks away, her face a bright scarlet. Karma and Nakamura try to suppress their laughter, with mischievous glints in their eyes. That's when I notice I'm feeling a little… drafty. I look down in horror and realize I'm in nothing but boxers, with my wild hair cascading over my shoulders. I feel my face burn and I look back up slowly.

"G-good morning, N-Nagisa-kun" Kayano says with both hands covering her eyes.

I'm about to respond when I suddenly notice Nakamura and Karma slowly reaching for their phones.

"Gah!" I cry out and try to slam the door shut. Too late, as Karma sticks his foot in the doorway.

"Tsk tsk, Nagisa, you can't just tease us like this and then shut the door!"

He starts pushing on the door. I push back in retaliation with all my might, but I'm no match for Karma in terms of brute strength. Within seconds he easily forces the door open, sending me flying. I land on my back sprawled out on the floor. Nakamura and Karma are both over me with their phones out in an instant, snapping pictures with devilish grins on their faces. I try to crawl away, but Karma jumps on my back in an instant.

"I know that Okajima was more interested in Hayami, but I'm sure these will work well enough for him, don't you think, Nakamura-san?" He jeers gleefully.

"Well I don't know about Okajima, but I DO know that I just found my new wallpaper!"

My face is burning with embarrassment. I squirm and wiggle, but at this point I've given up hope of escaping. Trying to escape Karma is like trying to wrestle off a bear. He's WAY too strong, it just doesn't make sense! He's not even that big!

"Oi, Na-gi-sa" He leans in and whispers in my ear, putting emphasis on each syllable of my name. A chill runs down my spine. I can already tell I'm not going to enjoy what he says next. "How much do you think we could sell each of these photos for at school? 500 yen? Maybe even 1000, for the more scandalous ones? I bet a LOT of guys would buy these in an instant… and I can think of at least one girl that might buy one" He glances back at Kayano, who still hasn't walked past the door.

"K-Karma-kun, you better not! Are you guys done now? Satisfied? Get off me already, jeez!" I pout.

Karma gets off of me, snickering evilly. I get up and see Nakamura scrolling through the photos of me, It looks like she got at least 20.

"Nakamura! Get rid of those right now! I'm going to get dressed right now, and If I come out and you still haven't deleted them-"

"Hai, Hai" She waves me off dismissively, a smile still plastered onto her face.

"You do realize that I can see you're still editing them right now?"

She turns her screen to me. I look away blushing immediately. She works quickly. It was an edited picture of me sprawled out on my back. She had drawn in black rectangles over my chest and boxers, to make it look like I hadn't been wearing anything when the photo was taken. She shows Karma, who falls to the ground laughing. The sadist, I can see tears streaming down his face he's laughing so hard!

"Nakamura-san, you have to send that to me!" He manages to get out between fits of hysterical laughter.

"NOOOO!" i yell out, flailing my arms wildly. "NOBODY IS SENDING ANYTHING TO ANYONE! DELETE THEM!" I run off to my bedroom to get changed. I can still hear Karma's howling laughter echoing down the hall. I come out of my bedroom with simple trackpants and a blue tee. The three of them are waiting outside. Kayano is still blushing, which makes my face burn again. Karma and Nakamura just smile.

"Ready to go, Nagisa-san?" Karma says.

"Those pictures better be deleted…" I grumble, trying to ignore Karma's addition of the -san suffix to my name. Nakamura shows me her camera roll, with 0 pictures of me."...From your recently deleted section too" I add to my statement. Both of them begin to walk away.

"Let's not fret the details," Nakamura says mischievously: "now hurry up, we're gonna be late!"

Before I can protest, I check my phone and see it's already 12:00. What a great way to start the day.

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We get to the school and I check my phone. 12:20. We walk into the nearly vacant school. All club activities that usually take place in the school at this time are cancelled because of all that's happening on the mountain. The government seems to have set up its base of operations just a couple hundred metres outside the school entrance. Police officers and military soldiers alike are patrolling the streets, and have cordoned off the streets around Kunugigaoka. The only reason the school itself isn't completely shut down is because Principal Gakuo simply wouldn't allow it. Because of his cooperation over the last few months, the government allowed the school to stay open. The four of us walk in and head straight for the library. We walk in and all heads swivel towards us.

"Well, you guys finally made it!" Isogai exclaims happily.

"About time…" Terasaka mumbles.

'What took you guys so long?" Sugino asks.

"We had some… interesting occurrences this morning when we got to Nagisa-san's" Karma says before taking a seat.

"Nagisa…-san?" Kanzaki repeats.

"I'll show you later, but let's get planning already!" Nakamura says before sitting in an open seat next to kurahashi. I blush profusely, which doesn't go unnoticed by many students, who shoot inquisitive looks my way. I grab the open seat next to itona, who says nothing and simply continues tinkering with his tank. As I pull up my chair closer to the table, my feet hit something under the table.

"What in the world is-"

I look under the table to see Okajima, curled up in a quivering ball, softly whimpering. I guess the girls already got to him. And I can tell he's really broken, because even though he's under the table, he isn't even attempting to look up the girls' skirts. Just what did they do to him? I don't even want to know. I lift my head up above the table. I glance around at all the girls and I shudder. I decide to tune into the discussion.

"I think it would be best if we all just stick together and move as a single unit until we reach Koro-sensei!" Isogai suggests. Karma snorts.

"We're assassins, not a military unit. We need to split up into squads, and systematically remove all opponents. Moving as a single unit is ridiculous, and would only inhibit our stealth capabilities."

"I say we all just charge in and attack them head on! They're on our turf, there's no way they can win!" Terasaka shouts. Karma stifles a laugh.

"Baka, why don't you just go and play with your legos in the corner over there"

"EHHHHHHHHHHHHH!" Terasaka shouts, jumping out of his seat.

"If I may make a suggestion" Ritsu speaks up before things escalate between Terasaka and Karma.

"I've made calculations for the success rate of karma-kun's and Isogai-kun's strategies." She says, glancing apologetically at Terasaka, who slumps back in his seat.

"I accessed the government's database and reviewed the data concerning this operation. The number of soldiers posted on the mountain, their weaponry and positioning . With that information, I ran simulations based on Itona's RC tank's recon footage last night… I've calculated that Isogai-kun's strategy has a 51.5% chance of success. Karma-kun's strategy has a 55.8% chance of success. With such a marginal difference in success rate between the two, and the fact that there are many unknown variables that could not be accounted for in my simulations, I suggest we take a democratic vote to decide which tactic we employ." The class falls silent.

"Thank you Ritsu" Isogai says. He then stands up.

"Alright everybody: let's do a show of hands. There are 28 of us, so let's try and not make this vote 14:14 so we can-" then he notices Okajima under the table.

"Nevermind, there are 27 of us, which means that one tactic is guaranteed to gain the majority. That simplifies things. Alright then… show of hands: who wants to move as a single unit up the mountain." 13 hands shoot up. Mine doesn't.

"Alright it looks like Karma's tactic will gain majority, but for the sake of democracy, and in case someone has had a change of heart in the last 10 seconds, I'll ask: raise your hand if you think we should use karma's tactic: split into squads and systematically eliminate the enemy."

13 hands shoot up again. Mine doesn't. I'm at an impasse. I know that I would personally prefer Karma's stealthier approach, but I don't know which method will work best for the class as a whole.

Terasaka grins.

'Oi, Nagisa - you didn't vote. Could it be…" He stands up abruptly with a confident glimmer in his eyes, his chair falling over and clattering on the ground. "...That you would rather use MY ingenious strategy?! Ehhhh?" He looks at me expectantly with a satisfied grin.

I laugh nervously. All eyes are on me.

"Well Nagisa, you're the deciding vote." Isogai says.

"Well…" I start. I figure I should explain the reasoning behind my choice, in order to create an understanding with those of us who voted for Isogai's strategy. "I think that as a class of assassins…given the fact that we have the element of surprise to begin with, I think we should try our best to maintain it, in order to reduce the risk of something going wrong. That being said… I think that Karma-kun's strategy will work best."

Karma grins, winking at me. Surprisingly, it's Kayano who opens her mouth next:

"Well, if Nagisa-kun thinks it's the best choice, that's good enough of a reason for me to like it." She looks over at me, and when we make eye contact she averts her gaze just as quickly, her cheeks turning a light pink. I look around the room and see everyone smiling and nodding their heads. I'm both surprised and proud that my opinion has such a galvanizing effect on the class. I had no idea my opinion was held in such high regard, and I can't help but grin happily. Isogai starts speaking again.

"Alright, then by unanimous decision, we will use Karma-kun's strategy. Now let's discuss the groups, divide everyone up, and assign each squad's role in the operation: this is it guys! THIS is our final exam. The beginning of our graduation ceremony!" Cheers erupt from all around.

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 **1 hour later**

"Alright so I'll read out the final squad compositions. " Isogai says, holding the paper we've been working on for the last hour, devising each squad's role and members. Each individual's position had been decided by taking everyone's opinion into account, and everyone was in agreement with their role. Isogai read the list aloud, and everyone was satisfied with the role they were given. Chiba and Hayami were given the roles of long range support, obviously. Everyone else was split into 6 groups of 4, making a V formation. And at the front of it all...

"...and finally,Karma-kun, Nagisa-kun; as the two most skilled assassins, it was unanimously decided that you two will be the vanguard of this operation." Isogai finished reading and looked up from the paper. Karma and I look at each other: he flashes me a grin. Isogai look at us both before continuing.

"Any questions? Objections?" Nobody had any.

"Alright then, that should be it for today guys! We'll meet up here again tomorrow at 1 p.m, to see how everyone's doing and begin planning each squad's coordination with one another. Let's try our best, everyone!"

"Hai!" Everyone shouts, before getting up from their seats. Everyone immediately joins up with their other squad members and start heading home together, obviously in order to practice and train together as a team.

"Oi, Nagisa" Karma calls my name.

I look up at him. He's leaning in the doorframe waiting for me, with a sinister grin plastered onto his face. I gulp.

"The two of us have been given the most important, and dangerous roles in the operation, Nagisa-san… I need to toughen you up" He cracks his knuckles for emphasis. I laugh nervously. "...AND pay you back for beating me during the paintball war. Let's head to an open area so we can get started" He adds, and smiles maniacally. I decide to tease him a little.

"Well Karma, If I beat you then, what makes you think you have any chance now?" I say as I walk towards him, reciprocating his smug look.

"Hooooh? The sheep finally decides to stand up against the wolf?" he grabs me in a headlock and starts dragging me out of the building. He laughs as I futilely wriggle around to no avail. Despite the discomfort, I can't help but smile myself.

 **A/N: next up: Training time! I hope you enjoyed this chapter, and hopefully it made you laugh a little. Next chapter will revolve around the building of Nagisa and Karma's relationship. (No, not THAT type of relationship). Expect an update every other week at some point between Friday and Sunday. (I live in Canada, eh, so depending on where you live the timing may be a bit off, but don't be alarmed! I'm pretty organised, so unless something catastrophic happens, I definitely won't fall behind on updates. If an update doesn't come out on time, I apologize in advance, something must've come up, but rest assured that I'm trying my best to stay on track.)**

 **(Oh, and next chapter will be through Karma's perspective, and then probably Karasuma's, in case you're getting bored of Nagisa :p).**


	3. Chapter 3

**A Darker Path**

 **By: TheReaperCometh**

 **A/N: here's chapter 2! Hope you enjoy. (that's it. What, you were expecting a longer A/N? Some sort of insightful message? Details on the chapter? Nope :p)**

 **Chapter 2: Bonds**

 **POV Karma**

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If there are two things I've learned from Nagisa, it would be to never underestimate an opponent, and to never lower your guard until you've dealt the unquestionably final blow. Although, on second thought, I suppose I've only learned to never underestimate Nagisa, exclusively. After all, where's the fun in taking every fight seriously? Belittling my opponents is my modus operandi.

I look across the open field, to the blue haired boy with sapphire eyes full of unmistakable bloodlust. His icy stare sends a chill down my spine: not one of fear, but of anxious anticipation. How invigorating! How can such a small, effeminate person radiate such intense bloodlust, enough to make a professional assassin tremble? I calm my nerves, remembering that I am the wolf, and he's the sheep. Both our chests are heaving. We've been sparring and training for hours now, all afternoon, since our meeting ended. I reciprocate his gaze, and it seems that our last clash of the day will start with a staring contest. The sun is setting at my back, casting a warm orange glow over the field. The grass around us rustles wistfully as a soft wind blows by. I smirk. Nobody, aside from maybe Karasuma-sensei, who I have yet to fight in all seriousness, can get my blood pumping and my adrenaline rushing as effectively as Nagisa.

I'm getting bored of this game of scrutiny. I draw my knife in my left hand and run towards Nagisa. I slice my blade in a wide arc. Nagisa easily ducks under it. Expecting this, i throw a sweeping kick at his feet. Predictably, he nimbly jumps into the air to avoid it: leaving himself wide open. Not wanting to pass up such an opportunity I quickly draw my second knife which was strapped to my right thigh, thrusting it upwards towards Nagisa's chest. In the blink of an eye, Nagisa draws his blade in midair - my knife comes within centimetres of its mark, only to be deflected: a concordant clash of steel rings through the air. My blade is sent flying from my hand. It lands about 10 feet away, sinking into the soft loamy ground. Tsk. Upon landing, Nagisa quickly hops backwards to regain his bearings.

"Oi, nagisa" I call out as I sheath my other knife.

"How about we put away the weapons for now and do some hand to hand combat, hmm?"

He smiles. "Sure". He sheathes his weapon.

I grin. I knew he would agree.

We approach each other slowly, stopping once there's about a 2 metre distance between us.

There's a large gap in strength between us, giving me a significant edge in bare handed combat. I can afford to block Nagisa's attacks, but he's forced to dodge mine: because if he tried to block some of my more powerful strikes, he would undoubtedly incur major damage. Maybe even a broken bone. Yet despite it all, Nagisa still accepted my proposal. I love that about him. When it comes to assassination, his determination and bloodlust know no bounds.

Suddenly, Nagisa plants his left foot forward. Like a whirling tornado, He pivots off of it, spinning around and sending a side kick aimed at the side of my head. I block it with my forearm. From that strike, our battle becomes methodical and intricate. We dance around each other with deft footwork, in a flurry of kicks and punches, blocking and dodging. If someone were watching, they would almost surely believe us to be acting out a choreographed performance.

It's been two minutes and neither of us has landed a single direct hit. I throw a punch and Nagisa glides past it while grabbing onto my extended arm. He flips upwards and wraps his legs around me, one of which is over my stomach, the other over my neck. With his momentum, he pushes downwards through his legs with all his force, and I'm slammed onto the ground. He still has my arm, now stuck between his legs.

He's got me in an armbar. How did I let this happen? If I don't get out soon, I'll have to forfeit or risk breaking my arm. I muster all my strength and pull. Even though he's using both arms in an advantageous position, my one arm is still strong enough to resist the technique. After about ten seconds of struggling, I pull my arm close enough to me so that I can grab it with my other arm. With both arms now pulling, I easily wrench my arm back and stand up, leaving Nagisa coiled around my arm. I lift him up higher into the air, preparing to slam him down into the ground.

Just as swiftly though, Nagisa slithers around to my back, wrapping his legs around my waist from behind. A tingle goes down my spine, and it feels as though a snake is coiling around me, preparing to constrict me to death. He wraps one arm around my neck and locks it with his other. An effective choke hold.

I start to gag, feeling my face start to turn red already. I strain against the choke, trying to pry his arms apart, but I quickly realize I won't be able to escape this one with brute strength alone. This serves as a painful reminder that technique is truly more important to an assassin than raw physical strength. Not that I'm lacking in the skills department. On the contrary, I'm definitely a better melee combat fighter than Nagisa. In all our close quarter engagements, I'm typically on the offensive. But Nagisa is much more nimble and artful than anyone I've ever fought before. He's proficient at dodging, and even better at recognizing openings and seizing them in an instant. If you watch him fight from the sidelines of any fight, you'd think he was sure to lose - and then in the blink of an eye, he'd turn the tables and win, leaving you confused and dissatisfied.

The snake constricts tighter. Now my face is turning blue. I muster all my strength into my legs and spring backwards into the air, landing on Nagisa. The force of the impact causes his grip to falter ever so slightly for just a moment, enough for me to tear his arms apart. Free from the chokehold, I reach back and grab Nagisa with both hands. I heave him overhead and release, sending him flying through the air. He lands about 10 feet away with a loud thud. I roll back and stagger up, gasping for air. My lungs feel like they're on fire, the flame slowly going out with each gulp of air. An ironic analogy, I realize, as oxygen realistically serves only to strengthen a flame. Nagisa gets up slowly.

We're both motionless, sizing each other up. A battle between two skilled assassins truly is closer to a game of chess than an actual fight. You have to plan multiple moves in advance, and sometimes create decoys and feints to distract your opponent from your true intentions. This is especially true in our case, when we are so familiar with each other's fighting styles. We can predict each other's actions and reactions in most cases, and so far every sparring match today has been decided in a single moment - a single mistake. If I'm going to win this match, I'm going to have to change my fighting style.

I draw my knife slowly to let him know that we are using weapons again. I jump backwards and deftly throw my knife. As I land, I hear a loud _clang_ , as two knives clatter to the ground between us. It seems Nagisa had the same idea. I now have no knife, but he still has one. I'm at a disadvantage now. We begin circling each other, looking for an opening, planning 10,15,20 moves in advance. We're each running simulations in our heads, trying to determine what to do. Suddenly Nagisa closes the gap, diving across the field and grabbing a knife on the ground mid-roll. At the end of his roll he throws the knife. Shit! With no knife available and no way to dodge in time, I raise my arm in front of my chest to absorb the hit.

 _Twang._ An expression of confusion forms over Nagisa's face, as a sound of metal striking metal was heard instead of the expected sound of metal piercing flesh. My sleeve rolls down to reveal a hidden blade that had been attached to my forearm. What a shame. I was hoping to save it as my final trump card. Nagisa looks at me angrily.

"No fair, Karma-kun! I thought we both agreed on two knives each!" He pouts.

I grin.

"Hoh? There are no rules in assassination, Nagisa. Wolves don't play by the sheep's rules"

Nagisa, fueled by annoyance, makes a foolhardy lunge towards me. I don't have enough time to detach the blade from my wrist. so I simply grab his wrist to halt his thrust. We lock eyes again. Nagisa glances down at his knife, making me instinctively follow suit. Unexpectedly, Nagisa releases his knife. I watch it fall towards the ground. Shit. I realize too late that this is the mistake that will likely cost me the match. I can't believe I fell for such a simple distraction.

The glare from the setting sun shimmers off the lustrous blade, blinding me momentarily. I'm reminded how dangerous it is to take your eyes off Nagisa, even for a second, as I feel a kick to my gut. I stagger backwards a step, losing my grip on his wrist. A moment later, i feel Nagisa's back press against my chest. He wraps his arms around my right arm, and before I can react, Nagisa pulls with all his strength, lifting my feet off the ground and heaving me over his shoulder. I hit the ground hard, and the wind is knocked out of me. I feel nagisa jump on top of me. He swipes the blade that was attached to my wrist, and holds it high above his head, wielding it with both hands. He plunges it down towards my face. I buck my hips violently, bumping Nagisa forward. I see the look of surprise on his face. I tilt my head at the last second, narrowly dodging his knife as it embeds itself into the ground.

Now that he's off balance, I position my knee against his chest and scissor kick him off of me. Rolling with him, I'm now on top of him. I quickly pin his wrists. He starts to wriggle under my weight. I grin gleefully down at him. Now to finish him. With no knife, I have no choice but to… improvise. I remove my hands from his wrists and position them around his throat, strangling him. I see a look of panic flicker in Nagisa's eyes, the ice beginning to crack. I snicker. With no weapon, and no advantage in strength, there's no escape. He gags and grabs at my hands desperately in a fruitless effort to free himself. I strengthen my grip around his throat. I see the life draining from his eyes. He's about to lose consciousness. Looks like another victory for me, meaning that I will have won 3 out of 4 sparring matches today. I sneer down at Nagisa gleefully. I guess I am the better assassin after all. In the end, the wolf will always triumph over the sh-

my train of thought derails as I feel a cold blade press against my jugular. My eyes widen in surprise, but I don't need to look down to know Nagisa has pressed a knife against my throat. Sigh. I was so close too. The final score is 2-2 for today. How boring, I hate draws. I look down at Nagisa's smug face.

"Gotcha" he sputters out.

"God dammit" I say with a grin.

I really want to punch him, but I suppose that would be unsportsmanlike. I roll off of him and flop on my back next to him. We both lie in silence, soaked in sweat. Nothing but the sounds of our heavy breathing and the soft breeze can be heard.

"So who's the wolf now, Karma?"

I chuckle."Hoh? Getting a little cocky eh, Nagisa kun? And in case you forgot, the final score is 2-2, you didn't beat me. Although I do have to ask… when did you manage to grab the third knife?" I turn my head to look at him earnestly. The soft orange glow of the sunlight is reflecting off his perspiration, giving his soft complexion a warming shimmer. Over the course of the day, our rigorous training has caused his hair to come undone. He looks over at me and grins.

"When I rolled across the field, I grabbed both knives that we each threw and sheathed one of them. You thought I just grabbed the one though" He says with a distinct tone of satisfaction.

"You…" I'm at a loss for words. I look over to where our knives had collided earlier, and sure enough neither of them are there. I'm both angry and impressed. To execute such a maneuver perfectly in the middle of battle, within half a second, and without me noticing. It's inhuman. I can't let him know this though, so instead I just snicker and think of a clever way to end my statement

"... look cute tonight, Nagisa-san."

He narrows his eyes in confusion. I motion towards his long, unkempt hair. He blushes.

"...shut up" He mutters, quickly tying it up in his typical short pigtails.

We lie in silence, once again. The sun finally sets behind the horizon, allowing the shadowy veil of night to wrap over us. We're both too tired to speak, much less move. The cool grass and the soft breeze is lulling me to sleep.

"Hey... you think we're ready?" Nagisa asks, interrupting my moment of tranquility. I don't need to ask to know that he's talking about rescuing korosensei.

"Is that a rhetorical question, Nagisa?"

Silence. I guess not. What an idiot.

"Of course we're ready Nagisa. The two of us could go and take out an entire army of master assassins if we wanted to" I boast

"I meant 'us' as in the whole class, silly"

"Hoh? No faith in your fellow classmates, Nagisa-kun?" I joke.

"No, it's not like that, I just…" He trails off, biting his lower lip. I glance back over at him. Even in the darkness I can see a worried look etched across his face. I sigh. He'll throw his life away without a moment's hesitation in a suicidal attack if it means taking down his target, but as soon as anyone else's life is concerned, he loses all bloodlust. He's far too compassionate for others, yet seemingly uncaring in regards with his own well being. It's one of the things I both like and hate about him.

"Eh, all they have to do is stay behind us and we'll clear the way."

"I'm being serious, Karma. What if some of us gets seriously injured… or even killed?' He adds in a grave tone.

"Dumbass. You really think the government will issue the soldiers to shoot and kill students? That would never happen, and Karasuma would never have given us the opportunity to take matters into our own hands if that were the case. Not to mention the fact that every member of our class is a skilled assassin. We've all gone through the same hardships, and we've all endured them together. I mean, they're nowhere near as skilled or as badass as me, but they're all decent" I shrug

Nagisa throws me a sideways glance. I grin back, and we both burst out laughing.

"Thanks, Karma-kun…" Nagisa mutters dozily.

"For what? Don't go all soft on me after such an epic battle. And just as I was beginning to see you as a wolf, you prove that you're still just a-"

I stop midsentence as the sound of soft snoring tickles my ear. I look over at Nagisa, who's fallen fast asleep on the grass curled up in a ball. His soft complexion reflects such kindness and innocence as he sleeps, It's very difficult to envision him as an insatiably bloodthirsty assassin.

"How troublesome…" I mutter as I get up off the ground with a grunt. I reach down and scoop Nagisa up into my arms. I'm surprised at how light and delicate he is - it feels like I'm carrying a small child. I begin walking down the path towards Nagisa's home, which is about 2 km away. Nagisa shifts in my arms and nuzzles into my chest. My heart flutters a little bit: what is this feeling? I know it isn't THAT type of love. I'm self conscious enough to be able to recognize that much. But it is indeed love, of some sort. For me, Nagisa emanates warmth at all times, that not even the sun can substitute for. Even when he's fighting, and his vibes become cold, ruthless, and oozing with killing intent. We share an inimitable bond, that I know will never break. I always have a strong urge to protect him, and I think of him more fondly than anyone else in my life. I guess if I had to describe my feelings for Nagisa, I'd say… it's a type of brotherly love. But deeper than that. He's like my second half. Truth is, I don't know how to explain it. I look down at the blue haired boy, whose soft snoring vibrates throughout my chest. Ironically enough, I notice Nagisa's blue hair has a fragrance of… strawberries? I sneer. Interesting choice of shampoo, Nagisa san.

I finally reach his house. With my hands full, I kick against the door as a substitute for knocking. No answer. I slump Nagisa over one shoulder. He doesn't even stir, emphasizing how truly exhausted he is. I reach for the doorknob with my free hand, giving it a twist. Surprisingly, the door opens. I walk in and flip the lights on, and the first thing I notice is a beautiful, ornate dress laid out on the kitchen table. It's white, with gold trimming around the shoulders and along the bottom. Upon closer examination, I see small white roses embroidered all over the soft fabric. This thing looks expensive enough, and fancy enough to be a wedding dress. Could Nagisa's mother be remarrying? That's when I notice the note on the table next to it. I pick it up to read.

Nagisa

Hey sweetie, I likely won't be home when you get back: I'm heading out to a dinner party with a few friends. You like the dress? Surprise! It's for you! Think of it as a reward for making it into the top 50 scores of your school during finals. I'm so proud of you! Try the dress on and tell me how you like it before I get home, I can't wait to see you in it! Think of all the boys you'll impress by wearing it to school ;)

Love mom

P.S there's meatloaf in the fridge, just put it in the microwave for a few minutes XOXO.

I crumple the paper angrily. What a sickening, disgusting woman. I glance sympathetically at Nagisa, who I had set down on a sofa in the living room upon entering. He actually puts up with this shit on a daily basis? If she was my mother, i would have killed her long ago - and that's barely an exaggeration. I grit my teeth in anger and grip the corners of the table so hard my knuckles begin to turn white. I take a deep breath and calm down. What an insanely depraved bitch. I had no idea how ridiculously delusional Nagisa's mother is. I would love to burn the dress, but that would only cause trouble for Nagisa as his mother would certainly blame him for it. I can't even imagine how insufferable it would be, being her son. Now I understand why Nagisa's father left long ago. His whole life, Nagisa has known that his very gender is a disappointment to his only parent. Forced to cross-dress, raised as a little girl. All the confusion he must've experienced growing up. I'm surprised nobody thought to call child services.

I look at the clock. It's a quarter past 7. I feel like I haven't slept in days. It's time for me to get home too, I'll need a good night's sleep so that I'm well rested and energetic for more training with Nagisa tomorrow. I grin at the prospect. I haven't felt this excited for a new day to start in a long time. I walk over and scoop Nagisa back up. He mumbles inaudibly but doesn't wake. I carry him carefully to his room and plop him down on the bed. I'm just about to exit the room when a thought crosses my mind. I tiptoe over to Nagisa's closet and crack it open. I almost gag. What the hell. Although I can't say I'm completely surprised: inside Nagisa's closet hangs dozens of different dresses and skirts. My god. I have to rescue Nagisa from the clutches of this crazy woman. Maybe we can be roommates next year on campus? Yeah, that'd work. We'd have to actually kill korosensei to procure enough money to live on our own… but I feel as though it will come to that anyway, regardless of the reasoning behind it. Before I shut the closet, I snap a picture of its interior with my phone. Oh yeah, Nakamura will get a kick out of this alright. Closing the closet, I then sneak back to the entrance and flick the lights off, then take my leave. I shoot one last look at Nagisa's home on my way down the road.

Goodnight, Nagisa-kun.

 **A/N: Hope you enjoyed! Please leave a review, feedback is more than welcome. Next chapter: The day of the operation is finally upon us through the eyes of Karasuma! Thanks for reading!**


	4. Chapter 4

**A Darker Path**

By: TheReaperCometh

 **Chapter 3: An Unexpected Encounter**

 **POV Karasuma**

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My eyes flash open as an alarm rings. I reach over and hit the snooze button. It's 6:00 a.m. Time for my morning jog. Years of disciplinary training have allowed me to wake up feeling fully alert at any given moment, a talent which has allowed me to maintain peak physical condition all my life thus far. I pull a white t-shirt and grey sweatpants on and head straight to the front door. I put on my black runners, and rush out the door. I look at my watch and grimace: 6:03. I was a bit slow getting ready today. I take a deep breath of fresh air. It's a cool night, the chill of winter still lingering prominently in the air. It's probably about 2 degrees celsius right now. As the jolting cold courses through me, I do some quick stretching to limber up and then I take off. I typically run for about 50 km, but seeing as how I'm planning to stay at the gym a bit longer today, I might just cut it down to 40.

I take a deep breath. What am I even saying? Under no circumstances, do I ever take shortcuts - that's how people slip. Besides, shaving 10 klicks off my run will only save about 10 minutes. Most people think it's ridiculous - and inhuman - that I can maintain an average pace of 1 km/minute. I just tell them it's no big deal. It's easily attainable given enough time and determination. Anyone can do it, if they go through my routine.

While running I throw some punches at the air, and practice my bobbing and ducking. I round a corner. I've run 14 km so far. I glance at my watch. 6:19. Yep, I'm a little off my game today. Could just be one of those days when your body just protests against any and all physical exertion. Or the more likely reason being that today is the big day: Korosensei's judgement day. Whether today will end with his disintegration at the mercy of the Spear, or his salvation at the hands of class-E, this entire ordeal will be over tonight. Although I'm not completely against Korosensei's execution, a large part of me hopes that the students can pull off a miracle and rescue him: which is why I've decided to leave everything in their hands. Mine are tied anyway. I've taught them everything I could in the limited amount of time we've had together, and each and every one of them has not only reached, but exceeded my expectations. A few in particular especially, I think, as an image of Nagisa and Karma flash in my mind. Those two are truly something else. They're in a separate league of their own, and I find it almost disconcerting how naturally talented they are. No doubt they will both play roles of paramount importance tonight. I would rather take my chances fighting a professional assassin than either one of them. I'm on km 25 now. It's 6:28. I've redeemed my pace. I should be back home around 6:45, and -

I round the corner of the sidewalk and run straight into not one, but two hooded individuals, both of whom are sent flying back. It's too dark to see their faces. I extend both of my hands out to each of them and bow apologetically.

"Please forgive me. I should've been watching where I was going, I didn't see-"

Both figures suddenly lunge at me, their moonlit blades flashing towards me. My reflexes kick in and I lean back, narrowly dodging the knives. The two figures continue in a relentless attack of thrusts and slashes, offering no reason and giving me no chances to ask for one. I can instantly tell they aren't typical street thugs. Their movements are very precise and methodical: they're clearly well trained. They're both in perfect coordination with each other, and it feels as though I'm being attacked by a single person with 4 arms and 4 legs. I'm being pushed back, unable to find an opening in their impeccable flurry of attack, which only speaks to the their level of synergy.

Just who are these people? I'm at a disadvantage with no weapon. Suddenly, they sheath their blades and jump back, landing side by side. I take a moment and catch my breath, sizing them up.

"Who the hell are you?! Who hired you? Did Takaoka send you?"

No response from my assailants. I study their stances. Also nearly impeccable. In fact, their stances are somewhat familiar to me, which only enforces my belief that they were sent by Takaoka. Even in prison, that man won't give up his revenge. I'm sensing a particularly deep bloodlust emanating from the one the right. He's a fair bit smaller in stature than his partner, but it seems he's the one to watch out for. Suddenly, the taller one draws two knives and charges towards me. He's very fast, and closes the gap between us instantly. I notice the shorter one slink back into the shadows, and I lose track of him. Tsk. I'll have to stay on high alert for stealth attacks coming from the shadows.

The taller one swings his blade at me: I raise my arm and intercept his swing, striking his hand away. He's quite strong too, and I can feel a lot of strength behind his attacks. He throws a deep thrust aimed at my chest. I sidestep into him past his extended arm and grab him by the neck: bending him over, I simultaneously slam my knee upwards into his face. He staggers back clutching his hooded face. While he's vulnerable, I launch a kick aimed at his head. He's surprisingly quick to recover, and succcessfully ducks under it. Without a moment to spare, he thrusts his knives at me once again. I barely manage to grab both his wrists before his blades drive into me.

"Who are you!" I shout once again.

No response. I feel very unnerved, having completely lost track of the shorter one's position: I can't even feel his presence anywhere. I bend both wrists of my immediate attacker back with one swift motion, forcing him to drop his knives. With a quick upward jerk, he wrenches his arms free. He jumps high into the air, with one leg raised, ready to deliver what I assume to be an axe kick. An interesting choice. But why? This technique is only good if you can ensure it will land, either by means of surprise or preventing your opponent from dodging. I start to step back. No point blocking when I can easily dodge back and conserve my energy. I begin to move back when out of the corner of my eye I see a flash of metal shoot out from the shadows. Luckily, I had been consciously watching for attacks from the surrounding shadows. The knife's trajectory is flawless, aimed right for where my head will surely be if I dodge or step back. Stuck between a kick and a knife, I choose the obvious decision.

I plant both feet and raise both arms above my head in a protective X, bracing myself for the kick. I feel a crushing blow against my forearms, and pain sears through them. I can tell they aren't broken, but I will definitely develop some serious bruising. I uncross my arms and grab the leg which just kicked me before my attacker can retouch the ground: with a twist of my hips and a swing of my arms, I pivot and slam him into the ground. He tumbles continuously until coming to a stop about ten feet away. I need to catch my breath and figure out what to do. I'm starting to discern the bigger one's fighting style - it's the other one I'm more concerned with.

Suddenly I sense it. An unmistakable bloodlust coming from right behind me. I hadn't sensed it until this very moment, but I know that the shorter one is right there. These two are definitely master assassins. I whirl around just in time to grab the attacker's wrist, intercepting his lethal strike - my eyes widen as a blade is stopped an inch away from my right eye. I haven't been caught off guard this significantly in many years. I do notice that this one is noticeably weaker than his companion. Suddenly he releases his knife. A common distraction technique, one that I'm not dumb enough to fall for. Just as quickly though, He jumps and twists in mid air, in an attempt to wrap both legs around my neck. He comes close, but I manage to swat one leg away, preventing him from being able to get a proper choke around my neck. I pry his other leg off my shoulder, then grab the small one by his neck and raise him into the air with one hand. He's light too. He begins to gag. I hear the tall one coming up from behind me, but it's too late to react.

I feel a hard kick delivered to the back of my knee and I buckle, falling to one knee. I manage to maintain my grip around the other one's throat. The taller one follows through with a thrust. Using my free hand, I deflect his arm away and push him past me. I feel two legs coil around my arm, and a sudden downward jerk on my arm, setting me off balance. I'm driven down to both knees. I realize in horror, as a pain starts burning in my arm, that the shorter one has me in an elbow lock. I grimace as the pain in my arm intensifies. The taller figure lunges towards me, blade raised high and ready to plunge downwards through my skull. With no chance of dodging or blocking, I only have one option. I grab the shorter one with both hands and swing him in front of me between me and the taller figure, using him as a meatshield. It takes all my willpower not to wail in agony, as the movement of my arm while still in the lock hurts like hell. I didn't hear an audible crack, but my elbow could very well be broken. The taller figure is forced to retract his blade and halt his attack. He lands a few feet in front of me and doesn't move, obviously at an impasse as to what to do next. I take this opportunity to wrench the cobra off my arm and hurl him at his partner. The bigger assailant catches him and sets him on his feet. I rub my arm. My adrenaline is pumping so much that I don't feel much pain right now, but in a couple hours, If I live through this, it's going to hurt like a bitch.

The taller one charges me again, and the other retreats back into the shadows. This tactic is getting tedious. I begin fighting the taller one again, blocking and dodging, but now that I've learned the rhythm of his technique, I'm able to throw punches and kicks of my own. I'm on hyper alert for the shorter one though, darting my eyes around my surroundings between attacks. Unfortunately, this prevents me from committing to the offensive against the taller one. This is frustrating. I think I'll have to take this one out in one quick move, without giving the smaller one a chance to intervene. An opening arises as the taller one throws a southpaw hook at my head. I grab his fist and bend it back. A distinct crack of bone is heard echoing through the street. He doesn't make a peep though, and I can't help but admire his formidable pain tolerance. I then grab him by the hood and hair, and punch him 3 times in the face and throw him to the side. He crumples to the ground unmoving. My eyes widen as I realize the shorter one had been right behind him the entire time. Using the fact that he was shorter than his partner, and with perfect synchronicity between their movements, i hadn't even detected the second one shadowing in his partner's footsteps. Their coordination is perfect, as if they've been fighting together for decades. I'm too surprised to react, as the shorter one springs up and does the most unexpected thing.

Inches away from my face, right at my focal point, he raises his hands up and claps. Something within me resonates at that moment, and I feel a hypnotizing effect cloud my mind. My thoughts are murky. I feel heavy, and my thoughts are sluggish. I feel as though my brain is drowning in molasses. I blink furiously. Get a grip! With sheer willpower, I break the strange spell that had been cast on me. I react just in time to block an incoming knife. I grab ahold of his arm and throw him over my shoulder, wrenching the blade from his hand as I do. He lands with a hard thud on the ground, and I press his own blade against his jugular.

"Who sent you? Who are you?!" I wrench back his hood to reveal the identity of my attacker.

Nagisa gives an awkward smile.

"G-goodmorning, Karasuma-sensei." He says sheepishly with a nervous laugh.

Then does that mean… I shoot a look over to where the taller one is now standing, clutching his nose as blood gushes out of it. He pulls back his hood.

'Amazing, Karasuma-sensei." Karma says as he removes his hand from his nose and slowly claps sarcastically.

"I expected nothing less from you… although I'd be lying if I said I didn't think we had a chance at taking you down." He adds with a nasally voice, re pinching his nose to stop the bleeding. He shoots me one of his classic grins. I'm speechless. My mind races as I try to process the situation. My adrenaline is starting to dissipate, and the searing pain in my arms and knee returns. I feel a tug on my sleeve.

"Eh, karasuma-sensei, could you maybe remove the knife from my throat, please?"

I retract the blade and toss it to the ground. I extend a hand and help Nagisa up. He looks at me with an apprehensive smile, which fades quickly as I glare daggers at him.

"What the hell are you two doing out here, attacking me out of the blue at 6:30 in the morning!?" I say with a harsh tone to feign anger. But I'm secretly impressed at how well they performed. Giving me a hard time is no simple matter. I've gone against more trying odds than 2v1 in the past and come out triumphant with much more ease than I did just now. They've come so far, and my heart can't help but swell with pride.

I still recall the first day I walked into class 3-E. I tried to seem hopeful and encouraging. I looked out at all the young faces for the first time and immediately conceded in that moment that the Earth was doomed. How could a group of highschoolers, that had never even held guns before, ever accomplish what the entire conglomeration of international defense forces couldn't? Maybe if I had a few years to work with them, but just eight months? Impossible! Those were the thoughts that went through my mind on that day. But watching them grow all these months; training them, watching their formidable and creative assassination attempts, and looking at the two assassins who stand before me right now, I realize now as i did many months ago: how wrong I truly was. I keep my eyes narrowed and try to maintain a stoic expression, so as not to encourage them into making a routine habit of attacking me at 6:30 in the morning. It seems Karma sees right through my facade.

"Hoh? We did pretty well, eh karasuma sensei? In fact, dare I say, we nearly killed you at least twice there."

I ignore his cockiness for now. "Answer the question, what are you two doing out here?"

Nagisa pipes up:

"Same as you, sensei - we were just out jogging" He smiles

I raise an eyebrow. "And you just happened to bump right into me, simultaneously deciding to attack me on the fly? Seems like a bit more than just sheer coincidence to me." Karma walks up to me, arms raised out to the side in a shrug.

"I have no idea what you're implying, Karasuma sensei"

"Hai, keen intuition as usual, Karasuma sensei." Nagisa admits: " We had planned to bump into you this morning." He scratches the back of his head. "We wanted to test ourselves against you to confirm our readiness for tonight. Although we were actually jogging! Karma-kun and I have been doing this routine regularly for the past few weeks in preparation for our graduation."

"Why hide your identities though? You could've both come and seen me today for a sparring match"

Karma and Nagisa exchange a strange look. Karma shakes his head.

"It seems matters of love aren't the only things you're oblivious to"

Nagisa punches him in the shoulder.

"What he means, Karasuma sensei, is that we didn't want to spar." He looks up meeting my eyes, ocean eyes sparkling with proud determination. " We wanted to battle, seriously, no holds barred. If you knew it was us, even if you agreed to give 100%, a part of you would still hold back knowing it was us."

I say nothing. He has a point, I would've definitely held back and taken the fight less seriously if I had known it was them. Although they're such skilled assassins now, especially as a pair, I probably would've been pushed to giving 100% anyway. I feel my expression soften, much to my chagrin, and the twitch of a smile threatens to show itself on my face. I grab both boys in a headlock and pull them in closer.

"K-Karasuma-sensei?!" Nagisa yelps

I let a small smirk tug at the corners of my mouth.

"Come on, I'll take you back to my place and we'll grab breakfast. You really gave me a good workout and you both fought very well. I couldn't be more pleased as your instructor at how far you've both come."

"Hoooh? Hear that, Nagisa? He said he's "pleased" with our skills. After we came so close to winning, all he has to say is that he's 'plea-ACK"

I strengthen my grip around his neck for a second, then release both of them. I turn around on my heals and start to walk away. I call back:

"If you can't keep up, you don't get breakfast!"

I start to jog away at a pace of 30 km/h to make it a bit more fair for them. I look back and see Karma grin before taking off after me, leaving a panic stricken Nagisa behind in the middle of the road.

"W-wait! Karma! Karasuma-sensei!"

Karma throws his head back in laughter

"Is the little sheep tired? We were only fighting for like 5 minutes, Nagisa-san!

Nagisa starts running. I notice karma is actually starting to catch up to me. Time to kick it up a notch. I begin sprinting at about 40 km/h. About 75% of my maximum speed. I want to measure Karma's top speed. The gap between us begins to widen. I slow down to about 35km/h. Now the distance between us is staying about the same. Being able to run at 35 km/h before even graduating high school is very impressive. He may even be a little faster than I was at his age.

29 minutes later I arrive at my front door. About 20 seconds later, Karma comes to a stop right behind me. He puts his hands on his knees, bent over and breathing heavily. His red hair is matted to his forehead. Seems he really pushed himself to maintain a pace of 35. I mean, I would be worried if hadn't needed to push himself. About 30 seconds after Karma, Nagisa finally comes to a stop. He's nominally slower than Karma, but still very fast for his age. Certainly fast enough for anything he wants to be when he's older. Nagisa immediately collapses on my front lawn, drawing in heavy, shallow breaths. I notice his hair came undone as we were running, as it's now sprawled out around his head, the blue in stark contrast with the green grass. I wonder why he chooses to keep his hair long like that. While I have been more involved with and devoted to class 3-E these past few months, I'm not particularly privy to their personal family information. Maybe he has his reasons. I remember overhearing something regarding his mother a few times, but the details never quite found their way to my ears. I'll have to ask him one day.

"Come on in, the sun will be rising soon." I glance to the horizon and see a faint orange glow beginning to poke it's head over the rooftops.

I walk into my house and look back to see Karma extend his hand out to help Nagisa up, who gladly accepts the offer. Those two have really grown close recently, I can tell they trust each other wholeheartedly. Just then, as Nagisa is pulled about halfway up, Karma let's go causing Nagisa to fall back down. Karma bursts out laughing, only to be interrupted mid cackle as Nagisa tackles him to the ground and they start grappling. Sigh. I take it back. Forget everything I was just saying. I walk over and pick them both up by the back of their shirts, and carry them inside. I set them down in the living room, then go to the kitchen to make breakfast. I'm not much of a cook, so I just make porridge and a protein shake for each of us. High in calories and protein. A smile cracks my stoic expression as I hear them bickering in the other room. Then it fades as I recall what these two kids, along with 25 others, will be doing later tonight.

If anything happened to any of them tonight, I'd never forgive myself for allowing them to go. It would haunt me for the rest of my life. But seeing the display of talent these two showed 30 minutes ago, I have good faith that they'll come through. I trust them.

.

.

.

14 hours later

21:58

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.

.

I'm standing in a large control room, currently being used to monitor koro-sensei. There are dozens of other people here, sitting at desks, manning the many computers and communication devices present in the room. In the centre of the room stands the director of national defense, the man currently overseeing the operation. His eyes stare intently into the main monitors at the front of the room, years of experience in the field and behind the scenes have granted him discerning eyes and an unshakable mettle. One monitor shows a live camera feed of the glowing amber Shield surrounding class 3-E, from multiple angles. The one next to it displays a satellite imaging feed of the Spear. They're beginning to prepare for its firing sequence.

On smaller monitors, covering every inch of the wall on either sides of the two primary screens, we see live feeds through the cameras on the squad members of our posted teams on the mountain, surveying the forest: as well as an independent heart monitor associated with each soldier to watch their vitals. I must admit, working with adults in such a monotonous building feels so foreign to me now after my experiences in class E. I glance at the camera feeds. There are 6 teams, each with 6 members posted around the 3-E classroom…

plus a hired assassin to help in case of emergencies. I clench my teeth and stare at the monitor displaying his camera feed. I only learned about his involvement a few hours ago. I read his portfolio quickly, and I must say I'm worried about the students' safety. He's a seasoned killer. A remorseless hunter like him won't think twice about sinking a knife into one of the students, despite the government's wishes. Unfortunately, he's one of the best assassins currently available, and his skills were deemed necessary to utilize for this operation. After all, failure is not an option. Any and all opposition must be eliminated, we can't afford the risk of anyone getting in to help the 'alien' or disable the Shield. My heart races and a fluttering sensation in my stomach begins to manifest. The students' operation should be starting any moment now.

After all this time, careful planning, and training, show me what you can do. Prove to me that you are deserving to graduate from this assassination classroom.

One of the communication specialists turns around to the director of national defense, with a panic stricken expression. Signaling the beginning of the end..

"Sir! Alpha team has come in contact with an enemy unit! Alpha leader is MIA!"

"Give me the comms, now." The director says in a gruff voice. The young man fumbles with the mic and hands it to the director. I lean against the back wall and watch the monitors attentively. Tensions are high, and you would be able to hear a pin drop in this room.

"Alpha two, this is HQ, do you have a visual on the enemy, I repeat, do you have a visual on the enemy, copy."

"Negative, sir. No visual on targets. We suddenly lost communication with Alpha 1. We called Bravo to reinforce our position, copy."

"I read you alpha two, keep us posted" He drops the headset and lets out a sigh.

"Who the fuck would even try to interfere tonight" he mutters angrily.

A flash of movement on Alpha 4's camera, a sudden plummet in heartbeat speed, then the feed cuts out. A shadow tears across alpha 5's camera, and the live feed is also lost. Neither of them is dead though, as their hearts are still shown to be beating on the monitors. Obviously just knocked out.

The director grabs the mic again

"Alpha two, what the hell is going on there, who is attacking you? How many enemies are there, do you copy. Alpha two, do you copy? Dammit!" He switches the communication to an open feed so all squads can hear.

"Until we know who we're up against, lethal force is not authorized, I repeat lethal force is not authorized"

"A-Alpha team, copy"

"Bravo team, copy that'

"Charlie, understood sir"

"Delta team, we read you sir"

"Echo team. Copy that"

"Foxtrot, understood"

I smirk inwardly. These poor soldiers have no idea what they're up against. Although I notice that the hired assassin said nothing. As expected, he's not willing to conform to a non-lethal standard. I return my gaze to the monitors. Good luck E-class.

 **A/N: Hope you enjoyed! Just a heads up, next chapter is… long. Right now it's looking to be about 7000 words o_O. I had originally planned to split it up into two chapters, but then I realized I didn't want to because I don't want to drag this out any longer. next chapter: Tragedy takes hold! Time to get gritty! suffering and despair galore, next chapter! Hooray! Let's get things rolling :p**


	5. Chapter 5

**A Darker Path**

TheReaperCometh

 **A/N: I hope you've enjoyed the story so far. Time for tragedy to occur, and despair to take hold! This is a VERY long chapter, so I'm sorry if that bothers you: I just didn't want to prolong this part any more! I hope your nerves are steeled and you're mentally prepared for this! Enjoy...**

 **Chapter 4: Happy Birthday**

 **POV Nagisa**

 **Time: 21:55**

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"It's now or never guys. The clock is ticking. If we don't get to korosensei and save him in the next 2 hours, We fail. No matter the outcome, these next two hours will be looked back on years from now as one of the most pivotal moments of our lives. If we flounder here, it will haunt us forever. So we all have to give it our best tonight, and channel everything we've learned from korosensei, karasuma sensei… and each other."

Isogai concludes his pep talk as he extends his arm out towards the centre of our gathering. Everyone piles their hands in, one on top of the other. We all look around at each other's faces, finding reassurance in each other's eyes and reinforcing our resolve. Thanks to Ritsu, we're aware that there are 36 soldiers patrolling the area. Should be a piece of cake, if all goes according to plan. We have the home advantage, after all.

We all cheer in a hushed tone, not wanting to alert the soldiers, and launch our hands high into the air. A pang of sadness sweeps through my heart as I look around at all my friends, knowing that his will be our final operation together before we all go our separate ways to join the world of adulthood. This is our graduation. My somber thoughts are disrupted as Isogai offers a walkie talkie to me.

"Here, Nagisa-kun. I've given one to every group so we can all keep in touch.'

"Thanks. Good thinking as always, Isogai"

He beams back at me. "Good luck out there Nagisa, try to be safe"

"Hai" I reply reassuringly.

'safe' is a relative term after all.

I turn around, surveying the rest of the class. Some are silent in deep contemplation, undoubtedly pondering their futures and the gravity of our current situation. Others are making last minute preparations, examining their weapons: our arsenal consists of stun clubs and batons - nothing lethal. Karasuma would have our heads if we killed anyone, and Korosensei would certainly be disappointed in us. Plus, it's not like we want to murder anyone either: we're assassins, not killers. I smile inwardly, recognizing the irony of the statement.

Luckily, we even managed to procure some tranquilizer dart firearms, courtesy of an anonymous donor, who we can only assume was Irina-sensei, given that the crate they were delivered to the school in had a sticky note with a heart on it - so who else could it be from? Both Hayami and Chiba are equipped with long range tranquilizer rifles, potent enough to down a small elephant in one shot. They've already planned out the best vantage points for optimal coverage of the class as we advance through the forest. Everything is set, and in two minutes our operation begins.

I feel a sudden clap on my shoulder, making me jump a little. I turn around to see Kayano and Sugino standing before me, with serious expressions. Sugino smiles grimly.

"You ready for this, Nagisa? You've got a lot on your shoulders right now. If there's anything I can do to help, don't hesitate to ask for backup on the walkie". Kayano nods in agreement.

"Sure. Good luck you guys. Meet you at the rendez-vous."

Sugino smiles while loftily throwing a baseball up and down in one hand. Does he ever leave home without one?

"It's a race then!" He beams, poking me in the chest: "just because you got put in the vanguard, doesn't mean you get all the glory!"

Suddenly we hear a loud, ape-like cry.

"Oi! How do you turn this thing on!"

We whirl around to see Terasaka fumbling angrily with a stun baton.

"Did you make sure it's plugged in?" Inquires Maehara, looking over Terasaka's shoulder.

"This thing doesn't need to be plugged in, it uses batteries you idiot! At least, I think..." Terasaka screams at his friend.

"Have you tried hitting it?"

"Obviously!"

"Well have you tried turning it on and off again?"

Terasaka starts visibly shaking with rage.

"THAT'S THE PROBLEM YOU IDIOT I DON'T KNOW HOW TO TURN THIS STUPID THING ON! HOW CAN I TURN IT 'ON AND OFF AGAIN' IF I CAN'T GET IT ON TO BEGIN WITH!"

Failed attempts to stifle laughter can be heard from nearly everyone. I chuckle nervously. How did they both make it into the top 50 scores of our school finals? I'm concerned for our generation's future. Sugino scratches the back of his head.

"I better go help them out before they hurt themselves… see ya, Nagisa-kun!"

And with that, he races off, leaving just Kayano and myself standing side by side. She's barely said a word all day, which hasn't gone unnoticed by me. I'm not entirely sure why, but there's a suffocating awkwardness hanging in the air. Neither of us dare to make eye contact, our gazes averted to the ground. The dirt is the most fascinating thing in the world at this moment. Finally, she speaks up.

"Nagisa-kun… please don't die out there… when this is all over, there's something I need to tell you" A bright red blush paints her face, the likes of which would put a tomato to shame. I'm a bit taken aback by the ominousness of her statement.

"Kayano-chan?" I ask hesitantly.

She turns on her heels and begins walking away before I can add to my statement.

"A-anyway, good luck out there Nagisa"

"Uh, yeah… you too" I mutter softly, my voice being carried away by the wind before it even comes close to reaching her.

What does she want to tell me? Lost in thought, I don't even notice a presence sneak up behind me. A venomous voice whispers in my ear, sending a chill down my neck as my whole body goes rigid.

"Hoh? Nagisa-san, you really shouldn't have your guard down right now. You never know when an enemy might prowl up behind you… and STRIKE"

with that, he prods my butt with his stun baton, obviously set to a fairly low voltage. I yelp and jump away, as Karma howls with laughter. I rub my rear end to try and get rid of the numbness beginning to manifest. Heads begin to turn towards our ruckus. I blush, embarrassed. Luckily, once everyone realizes it's just another one of Karma's antics, they just smile and resume whatever it is they were doing. Believe it or not, but Karma pulling a prank is not an uncommon occurrence. I glare at him, still recovering from his fit of laughter.

"Sorry, sorry… I couldn't help it! I just love seeing your SHOCKED expression! If you'd like, I can kiss it better, Nagisa-san. " He purses his lips together, making an exaggerated smooching sound. I groan at his lame pun.

"Haha very funny. You know, if politics doesn't work out for you, I'm sure you could make it as a comedian" I retort in my most blatantly sarcastic tone.

Karma begins to open his mouth again, but Isogai's voice cuts through the crowd.

"Everyone! The time is now! Good luck, and don't forget to stay in touch with each other!" He says while waving his walkie talkie in the air.

A boisterous 'Hai!' erupts all around. I shiver anxiously. It's show time. I take a deep breath to quell my nerves. I glance over at Karma. As if sensing my distress, he decides to lighten up the mood.

"Oi, Nagisa, why don't we have a little competition? Whoever takes out the most enemies, gets to make the loser do anything they want" He smiles sadistically, putting a little too much emphasis on the word anything. Gulp. What sort of horrible, embarrassing torment would I be put through if he wins? Would I be forced to crossdress for a photoshoot? I shiver at the thought. No. That won't happen.

Because I'll win for sure.

I smirk at him.

"Deal. Your wrists are broken, this should be a cinch" I point out

We're supposed to stay together on this mission, acting as some sort of gallant duo, but both of us agreed that that would just be dull and boring. Our targets aren't even using lethal force.

"A sheep could never out-hunt a wolf! Only one is broken, the other is just sprained. I iced them a lot earlier right before coming here, so It should be fine for a couple hours. Especially once I get moving and focus on the task at hand. I hope you'll remember your agreement, Nagisa-kun… with such an enticing incentive, there's no way I'll lose now." I look over at him, expecting to see a smug expression. But rather than one of his usual cocky expressions, I see a completely serious and sincere countenance. Not even the faintest hint of a smile. I blink twice trying to dispel the illusion that has obviously taken hold. How… unnatural. Suddenly he takes off, dashing through the brush, leaving me to stew in my thoughts.

"Karma! No fair!" I cry out, and begin to chase after him. He has about a 20 m head start, and the distance between us is increasing rapidly. Jesus he's fast! Is this Karma's true potential when he has proper motivation? Does he want to see me in a dress and makeup that badly, or does he have something even worse planned? We're now in the densest part of the forest. It's a cool night, the full moon struggling to pierce the thick canopy of leaves above us, providing a pale ambient glow throughout the entire forest. Just enough to see where you're going: and the perfect environment for stealth attacks. We all know this forest like the back of their hands, so navigating it in the dark is simple. The soldiers, on the other hand, must be at a disadvantage even if they're equipped with night vision.

I spring up and grab a thick branch above me, swinging upwards and landing on it. I begin running and jumping from tree to tree, an exercise I practiced regularly in this forest. This way I can see farther around me, and I can use the foliage as cover from the soldiers' lines of sight, and drop down when an opportunity presents itself.

Karma is out of my vision at this point, but that doesn't mean I don't know where he is: as I'm jumping from branch to branch I notice the crumpled bodies of several unconscious soldiers on the damp forest ground. Shit. At this rate, Karma is going to win. I push my legs as hard as I can to speed up. About 50 meters ahead, I see a pair of soldiers walking through the forest. I jump to the next tree and then jump down into the brush crouching low. I make no noise as I land, and I slowly approach them from behind, careful not to step on any twigs or dry leaves.

I'm about 10m away from them now. Their backs are turned, and one of them seems to be speaking, presumably into a communication device. I can't quite make out what he's saying. Upon closer inspection now that my eyes are adjusted to the darkness, I can see they're wearing night vision goggles. I tap into my "special ability" to analyze them. The one talking on the device is very calm, with a stable heart rate. I can tell the other one has a stiff posture and an erratic heartbeat.

I draw my gun loaded with tranquilizer darts. They aren't wearing any real body armor, just military fatigues. I pull the trigger, sending a 3 inch dart straight into the neck of the calm one. He staggers only for a moment, before promptly dropping to the ground. Wow, this stuff is no joke. The other one grabs his gun and starts pointing it in every direction, whirling around wildly.

"H-hey what the fuck! Who's there!" He shouts.

He has no idea where I am. This is why you never drop your guard. Before he can catch his bearings, I train my gun on his neck. Looking down the sight, I pull the trigger. The dart sails through the air, and although I can't see it hit its mark, I know it does as the soldier collapses on the ground. Two down. As far as I can tell, Karma's probably at about 5 right now. Gotta pick up the pace. I jump back into the trees and continue forward through the darkening woods. I feel right at home, and despite the bleak situation, I feel as calm as can be. I nimbly jump from tree to tree, taking out any unsuspecting prey I cross paths with. I've taken out a total of 7 now, and I can't help but wonder if I'm on par with Karma. The next tree is too far away, so I hop down, entering a small open area... right next to 4 soldiers. How did I not notice them? I chastise myself. They all point their guns at me and yell at me to not move. Shit. I raise both hands above my head in surrender. Suddenly, two of them fall to the ground. The other two look incredulously at their fallen comrades, and before they can react, they hit the ground like sacks of potatoes. I see the tranquilizer darts sticking out of their necks. I let out a sigh of relief.

"Arigato, chiba-kun, hayami chan" I mutter to myself with a sigh of relief. I sense movement behind me and I whirl around, stun baton drawn.

"Oi, oi, calm down Nagisa chan. I just thought I'd drop by to see how high your score is in our little game"

Karma says, idly tossing a baton from hand to hand. I notice there's blood on his baton and lapel of his jacket. I gawk at him in wide-eyed horror.

"Karma! You didn't…"

He cocks his head to the side, confused. Then he smirks as he notices me staring at his stained clothing.

"Oh, you mean the blood? Don't worry, I was just having a little fun! Ever since our baseball game against class A, I've come to realize I have a real knack for batting!" He emphasizes with a swing of his baton. He looks at me and realizes I'm still skeptical.

"Nagisa-kun, you need to lighten up! I'm just having fun! Nobody died, I swear! A couple came close, but they definitely had a pulse when I left them."

I notice a half empty tube of hot mustard hanging out his pocket as well. I shake my head with a sigh. After being friends with Karma for so long and training with him so much, I had almost forgotten how sadistic and sociopathic he can be. I notice his broken wrist is concerningly swollen. I raise an eyebrow at him. He passively grabs it and massages it calmly, a symphony of perturbing cracks coming from the disgruntled joint. He doesn't so much as flinch.

"So, what's your score, Nagisa?" He smiles innocently, as if he hadn't just brutalized a bunch of people. The tone of his voice implies he knows he has me beat. For now.

"7." I look away, not wanting to see the pompous expression of satisfaction that has certainly found its way onto his face. Even in the corner of my eyes I see him beam.

"Hohhh? Only 7? I'm disappointed!" He says with feigned surprised "I'm already at 11! I can't wait to-"

We're suddenly interrupted by a blaring, muffled voice coming from our pockets. I whip out my walkie talkie and Karma and I stand in silence, awaiting its proclamation again. Nothing. I raise the walkie talkie up to my mouth and press the button to speak.

"Uh… He-"

"OI! NAGISAAAAAA! KARMAAAA!"

I jerk the walkie talkie away from my face as Terasaka's obnoxious voice blasts through. My poor ears. I tentatively raise the walkie talkie to my mouth again.

"Not so loud, Terasaka, sheesh. What is the -"

"OI SHUT UP AND GET OVER HERE! MAKE SURE KARMA IS WITH YOU TOO!"

Karma stops laughing and snatches the walkie talkie from my hand. Apparently it's too troublesome to grab his own from his pocket.

"Oi, Terasaka, you big oaf, where exactly is 'here'?" As if on cue, my phone buzzes in my pocket. I pull it out.

"I've sent Terasaka's GPS coordinates to your phones, Karma-kun, Nagisa-kun" Ritsu speaks up through my phone "his location, along with two other students', is about 650 m south east of your position. It seems they're being confronted by a master assassin hired by the government"

My eyes widen and I look at my phone, seeing Terasaka's pinned location on my map.

"Thanks, ritsu"

Karma raises the walkie talkie to his mouth

"We're on our way"

He tosses the walkie talkie back at me which I slip into my pocket. We can hear Terasaka's muffled voice.

"You got any tranquilizers left, Nagisa kun? I'm all out"

I check my gun and shake my head grimly.

"No, I used my last one a few minutes ago". We as a class only got one singular casing of tranquilizers given to us by bitch-sensei. We decided that chiba and hayami should get the most, 10 each, because they were our long range guardian angels. That being said, that left only 3 for every other student.

Karma sneers.

"Good. This'll actually be fun then! Let's get to it already. Hey, after we knock him out, do you think it would be better to squirt hot sauce or wasabi into his nose?"

I don't know if there's a 'better' option between the two, from an ethical standpoint. I let out a small chuckle.

"Definitely the wasabi"

"How merciless! Good choice!"

And with that we both start sprinting to the pinned location. Karma's a lot faster than me, but he slows down so I can keep up. I check my phone and see we're only 50 meters away from Terasaka's location. It's 10:36 p.m. We're making good time. We've probably dwindled away about 3/4 of the enemy's forces and we're just one km away from E-class. I frown as I realize that this professional assassin will likely be my last target of the night, meaning I'm guaranteed to lose the competition with Karma. I cast the thought away. The success of this mission is far more important than winning a childish game with Karma. Time to focus. We both climb up the tree next to us. I take out a pair of nightvision goggles I had stolen from one of my fallen prey earlier. I sweep the area in front of us where it shows Terasaka's location. Karma nudges me.

"I never took you for a thief, Nagisa! For shame!" He says mockingly. I blush from embarrassment.

"I'm just… borrowing it" I mutter defensively.

Karma snorts in amusement: "Well? See anything?"

"No, not - oh wait, I see Terasaka! It seems Maehara and… hang on… Justice are both there too!" I exclaim

"Can you see who they're fighting?"

I gulp as I study the scene. The three of them are staring down a menacing opponent of impressive stature. He's larger than karasuma-sensei, and I can feel the killing intent seeping out of him, even from this distance. His face is veiled with a black cloth. Despite his strong hostile radiance, his body is relaxed and his heartbeat is slow. Signs of a true, desensitized killer. I feel the color from my face drain as my eyes fixate on the machete currently sheathed on his hip. A real machete. Terasaka and Justice are panting heavily with wild vital signs. It's a bit difficult to see clearly, but it looks like all 3 of them are already injured. Seems this guy is toying with them, easily.

"Oi, baka, we're not here to bird watch. What's happening?"

"… he's a big guy. Probably 6'4, 6'5. Definitely a pro. He's pulverizing them! We gotta get down there and help them right now!"

"Hoh? Finally! I was hoping one of these dogs would be able to actually fight back. I've been pretty disappointed with the opposition so far tonight"

"I think you're the only one sad about things going smoothly" I sigh. He's hopeless.

The two of us make eye contact for a brief second, and nod our heads in mutual understanding. No words are exchanged, but we already have a plan. Even though we've only really been training together a few days, Karma and I know exactly what to do together. I guess we've always just had this inherent… chemistry, and mutual trust between us. Something that I presume usually takes years to develop with someone.

Karma slinks away through the brush, creeping up behind the assassin. This guy looks tough, so we need to take him out right away before he can react. I keep watching through the binoculars.

Suddenly, Terasaka and justice rush at the assassin, wielding their stun batons. Seems Terasaka managed to figure out how to turn it on. Terasaka makes a thrust at the man's gut with the weapon, as Justice swings his at the man's head. Maehara raises his tranquilizer gun and positions his finger on the trigger. The man is unmoving, not even blinking at the 3 incoming attacks. A sense of dread tugs along my spine and my skin crawls. My intuition is telling me this isn't going to work.

Maehara starts to pull the trigger, and Terasaka's and Justice's batons are only few inches away from their target. I see it all happen in slow motion:the man swiftly sidesteps to the left while ducking, grabbing Terasaka's wrist. He uses Terasaka's momentum against him and directs his baton right into Justice's ribs, who crumples to the ground. Maehara's dart sails through the air. However it isn't the man that falls to ground, rather Terasaka who was unfortunately used as a meat shield. Then without a second of hesitation, he grabs the stun baton from Terasaka's limp hand and rushes at a confused Maehara, slamming it into his gut. Maehara keels over on the ground. I sigh. It was a poorly coordinated assault to begin with. I feel a bit of panic swell in my chest as I the man plants his heavy boot on Maehara's chest and withdraws his knife.

"You guys are lucky I'm under contract not to kill" I can hear him say in a gruff, coarse voice. Behind his black cloth, I know he's smiling.

"But I'm sure I can chalk one death up to just 'an unavoidable casualty'"

Playtime is over I guess. I scan the brush behind him and see Karma crouched low, just 5 meters behind him. He looks my way and nods. I look back at the assassin, who now has his knife positioned just above Maehara's throat. I drop my binoculars and draw my knife, which I decided to bring in case of an emergency like this. I throw it with pinpoint precision towards the man's chest. Not that I expect the blade to hit its mark… or want it to. Sure enough, he notices it sailing through the air and expertly deflects it with his machete. He jumps back to put distance between himself and the source of the throwing knife. Right into our trap.

"Who the fuck is out 'ere, I'll gut you like a-" A seethes, but before he can finish his threat Karma pounces out of the bush, tackling him to the ground. I see them start to grapple, but waste no time in jumping from tree to tree until I'm behind them in the tree above where Karma had been. I perch myself, wrapping my legs around the branch of the tree. I just have to trust in Karma to be able to occupy his attention and lure him over here. My entire body is tense as I watch Karma narrowly dodging the man's lethal strikes. It's a menacing blade, at least 12 inches long. Its serrated edge is gleaming in the ambient moonlight. Karma's intentionally on the defensive, allowing himself to be pushed back. Not that he would be able to go on the offensive anyway, I say as I notice Karma is barely using his arm with the broken wrist. Just a little closer, Karma...

"That's a big, long knife you got there - I can't help but wonder if you're overcompensating for something!" Karma jeers once there's a lull in the flow of battle.

"What did you just say you lil shit?"

"Nothing! I was just wondering why a trained professional would need to use a knife against a kid like me" he shrugs condescendingly.

"You actually think I need this to kill a little runt like you!?" He shouts angrily, stuffing his blade into its sheath. Seems Karma's provocation was successful, now he won't have to deal with the knife.

They man charges forward and the fighting begins again. They're slowly coming closer and closer to my tree, exchanging blows. Very unlike the battles between Karma and I, this one resembles more of a slugfest. Both Karma and this guy are obviously brute force combatants, and their fight is just a flurry of exchanging punches and kicks, hit for hit. I shiver at the thought that if I were to be struck by either one of their hits, I would undoubtedly be rendered unconscious. Not that I would get hit, I reassure myself. I wince as the man's fist collides with the side of Karma's face - impressively enough, Karma barely staggers before retaliating with a spartan kick to the man's gut. The two of them are right under me now. Karma then jumps back, creating a gap between the two of them. That's my cue. With the assassin now right under me, I swing around on the branch so that I'm hanging upside down, my face just inches away from the man's. Although his face is covered, I can see his eyes visibly widen through the slit in the mask. Before he can jump away or raise his blade, I raise both my hands and clap them together right in his face. I see his eyes glaze over and his posture stiffen. I drop down from the branch and roll to the side as soon as I land.

"Now, Karma!"

Karma leaps into the air, one leg positioned high above his head into what is now becoming his signature move. The pro's eyes regain clarity as he breaks free from my technique. Too late, as a devastating axe kick is delivered right to the top of his skull. An audible crack is heard as Karma's heel slams into the man's head. His eyes roll back into his head as he crumples to his knees, and then faceplants into the dirt with his tongue lolled out of his mouth. I can't tell if he's breathing. A chill runs down my spine. My mouth goes dry.

"Is he…?" I can't finish the question, as I don't really want to know the answer.

Karma places his fingers against the man's carotid artery. After a few seconds pass, what feels like an eternity, he looks at me and grins. There's blood streaming from his nose and a gash on his cheek where the blade must have skimmed him.

"He's alive. He definitely has a skull fracture though, and he won't be waking up for a long time" He sighs contentedly

"Man, I can't have any fun with him when he's THIS knocked out. Shit." He pulls out his wasabi tube and gazes at it lamentably. I let out a sigh of relief. Thank goodness we didn't kill anyone tonight.

We hear a groan from behind as Terasaka attempts to get up off the ground. I run over to him and help him up. He shakes himself as if to wake up. I sling his arm over my shoulders to help stabilize him.

"Are you ok?" I ask

Terasaka grits his teeth and looks me in the eyes.

"Baka, don't give me that look of pity." He shakes me off, and I smile as I hear a quiet 'thanks' escape his mouth. He looks to Karma.

"Well? Got anything to say, you bastard! Come on, let it out now, because if you make fun of me for being used as a meat shield later I'm gonna slug ya!"

Karma raises his arms in innocence

"What? I would never do that! It was a perfectly understandable, hilarious development! We all need power naps once in awhile, right? I'm just impressed you figured out how turn the stun baton on. That alone makes this mission a success! " He adds a singular, pathetic clap at the end of his statement.

Terasaka face contorts with rage, but turns soft just as quickly as he looks away sheepishly.

"I had Justice turn the baton on for me…"

"What was that?"

Terasaka looks as if he's about to reply, when we hear another groan as Maehara begins to stir. Terasaka rushes over to him. I'm glad to see Terasaka so concerned with his partner's well being, he's usually so -

"YOU BASTARD MAEHARA! WHERE DID YOU LEARN TO AIM WORSE THAN A STORMTROOPER!" Terasaka screams while violently shaking his dazed teammate. I decide to intervene before maehara suffers whiplash.

"Terasaka-kun, I thinks he gets your point. It's not like he meant to hit you"

"Bah!" Terasaka exclaims while getting up and wrenching Maehara to his feet. He stumbles around before finding his balance, and looks around before his eyes fall on me and Karma. He beams

"Oi, thanks guys! We were in a real pickle there and I dunno what we would have done if-"

Terasaka slaps him on the back of the head "I had everything under control!"

We all laugh at the absurdity of the statement, even Terasaka.

"Lets hurry up and get to the rendez vous. Grab Justice and let's go." Karma says as he turns around and starts to walk away.

I scratch the back of my head and chuckle nervously. I had completely forgotten about Justice. Terasaka and Maehara run over and pick him up, slinging his arms over their shoulders. We race up to catch up with Karma.

We walk in silence, simply admiring our own successes tonight and the flawlessness of our performance. I glance back to see the other three about 10 metres behind us. After a few minutes of walking, Karma breaks the silence.

"Nagisa, could you teach me that clap move one of these days? It's a very handy skill, and I must admit I can't figure out how it works"

I'm a bit taken aback. It's pretty rare for Karma to openly ask to be taught something without being prompted.

"Um, ya, I could show you later and we could practice. You basically just do a quick clap, fingers tight together with no gaps in between, right in the focal point of a person's vision. That, coupled with a good amount of bloodlust is all you really need. Your opponent has to be unsuspecting and unguarded when you do it though."

He smirks. "Cool. Hmm, but who would I practice it on..?" He pretends to look around for imaginary people before his eyes fall back on me.

"Nagisa! You look like the perfect candidate!"

Before I can reply, we both get a ping from Ritsu saying we've arrived at the rendezvous point. It's 10:51. I look around. Nobody in sight.

"Ritsu, are you sure that this is the right place?"

"Positive! In fact, you 5 are the last arrivals according to my GPS tracking."

"Pssst! Nagisa, Karma, over here!" A voice beckons from behind some bushes. Karma and I look to each and shrug, then approach the bushes. We're suddenly yanked in. I yelp out in surprise, as I around at the faces of all my peers. Kayano falls on top of me.

"You made it, Nagisa-kun! Thank god!"

I start to blush as she wraps her arms around me. Was she really that worried? I sputter as several hands clap me on the back. I look over at Karma who's receiving a similar welcoming. An onslaught of questions was launched at us as Terasaka and his two buddies stumble into our gathering after hearing the ruckus

"How many did you take out Nagisa-Kun?"

"Oi Karma! Did you get more than 10 takedowns? Please say yes, I bet 500 yen that you would."

"Ritsu told us there was a master assassin posted here? Did you two take him out?!"

"Were you guys forced to kill anyone?!"

My head starts to spin from all the noise and attention. Isogai clears his throat

"Okay, okay, everyone calm down! We're all glad that everyone made it back safely, and in time. Now let's check to make sure we've taken down all our enemies. The total should come to 37. One at a time, tell me how many targets you each got."

We were all asked one by one. A lot of 1s and disgruntled 0s were heard, as well as a few 2s. Chiba and Hayami each got 3, which they both received praise for. Kayano actually got two, and she looked at me as she announced her score as if to confirm she did well. I smile back at her and nod my approval with a thumbs up.

"Okay so that brings us to… 18. Jeez that's only about half of them... did we really miss that many?"

Everyone exchanges looks of bewilderment, undoubtedly thinking that there's no way we managed to bypass half of the guards. I guess I should tell them that -

Karma starts laughing maniacally, causing 26 confused heads to swivel his way.

'Isogai, baka! You haven't even asked what the cavalry got, hmmm?"

Isogai blinks a few times. Silence around the crowd. My mouth turns dry. I almost don't want to say how many takedowns I got. I'm not much of a braggart, and knowing how hard everyone prepared for this night it almost seems too cruel to just blurt out that -

Karma cuts through the silence with a proud look on his face. Some might argue it to be a little condescending.

" I took down 11."

My eyes widen for a moment at his announcement. 11? Shouldn't it be 12 after the assassin? I look at him and he nods at me. I guess he's giving me the credit for it. I'm sure it's out of pity, since he still wins our little competition anyway. But I appreciate the gesture nonetheless. Everyone's jaws drop, and they quickly avert their gaze my way, expectantly.

"I-I got 8" I say as I look to the ground, chuckling nervously.

"SUGOI!" Everyone exclaims. I jump as several hands start clapping me on the back again in congratulations. As the initial cheer dies down, more questions are thrown our way, and a few grumbles are heard as money is exchanged between hands. It seems a lot of people were betting on whether it would be Karma or me to get the highest score. I guess everyone thought tonight was a competition. Isogai clears his throat again, garnering everyone's attention again. Thank god we have his voice of reason to keep us on track.

"Everyone! While we've all done really well so far, now is not the time to celebrate! It's 11:00 p.m and we're making good time so let's not blow it. There'll be plenty of time for celebration after we rescue Koro-sensei! So everyone get ready, because we're going to the top right now!"

A resounding 'Hai!' emanates through the forest, and I can't help but wonder if Korosensei can hear us. Now that all the soldiers are gone we can be as loud as we want. We all get up and start jogging towards E-class, which is now visible in the distance a few hundred metres away, through the orange barrier. We all come to a stop a few feet away from The Shield. We're at a clearing, and we all instinctively look up in the sky. Few stars are out tonight, the crescent moon's light struggling to pierce through a canopy of dark clouds. What we can see though is the bright Glow of The Spear charging up, marking the beginning of the end and reminding us that we're acting on borrowed time right now. We tentatively approach the orange force field. Karma parts through the crowd and does a dramatic somersault through the field, getting up on the other side and after doing a quick inspection of his body, turns to us and bows. We all roll our eyes and pass through. As we walk through we all look around at each other to make sure nobody lost a limb or developed a third eye while traversing the barrier. It's weird, there's no sensation at all when I pass through. If I were to close my eyes and walk in a straight line towards it, I would not be able to say when I passed through it. Ironic to believe that such a harmless thing is what's detaining our nearly invincible teacher. Okuda and Takebayashi are walking back and forth through it, muttering speculations to each other and other scientific gibberish. I don't even attempt to try and understand.

We're finally at the entrance of E-class. We take a moment before opening the door, preparing for what lies on the other side. Another assassin? Some sort of defense system like Ritsu? With all our weapons drawn and our nerves collected, Isogai whips the door open.

We're met with a gust of wind, and we all peer our heads in to see what's going on… only to see Koro-sensei frantically zipping about scrubbing down every inch of the classroom, whistling nervously to himself. He hasn't noticed us yet. All 28 of us can't help but laugh at how ridiculous it is. We were all expecting a final battle, and what do we get instead? Our teacher spending his last hour on Earth buzzing around at mach 20 cleaning the classroom.

"GAHHHHH! YOU GUYS?!" Korosensei shrieks in surprise. We startled him so much, that he jumped up so high he nearly went right through the ceiling, which only makes us laugh even louder. In fact we can't stop laughing, as a wave of happiness, excitement and relief inundates us all at the same time. When he finally lands again, he quickly appears right before us all, quickly extending his tentacles and placing one on each of our shoulders. His face glows pink.

"I can't believe it! You're here! I mean, i had a feeling you'd try to come and say goodbye! But i mean it's already past 11 so I thought maybe you weren't coming after all, er, i mean, not that I ever doubted you guys at all, it's just I started to get a little worried and then -" He rambles on and on that I just zone out completely as the air perceptibly thickens from all the rabble that's spewing from his mach-twenty-moving mouth.

"KOROSENSEI!" We all cut him off simultaneously

"HAI! FORGVE ME! FORGIVE ME! IT'S JUST IM VERY HAPPY AND PROUD OF ALL OF YOU THAT-" his speech ends abruptly, and the pink coloring drains from his face

"WHY ARE THERE ONLY 26 OF YOU!?" He exclaims with worry, and we see his tentacles moving about as he counts our heads over and over hoping himself to be mistaken.

Karma grins

"Korosensei, calm down! Kayano and Hayami our outside. We have a surprise for you!"

Korosensei's face lights up with yellow and green stripes.

"Nyuhuhuhu! One final assassination attempt eh? While you've all impressed me in making it this far, don't think I'll be as easy to eliminate as some typical soldier! I'm the big boss!"

I smile at him.

"You'll just have to follow us and find out."

We all start to walk out, our invulnerable teacher shuffling behind us, eyes darting in all directions looking for the assassination attempt to begin. We open the door and exit the building, walking about 10 metres before all turning around to face the entrance. Kayano and Hayami are in the middle at the front, holding the surprise.

A skeptical Korosensei walks out and surveys us all. After counting all 28 heads, he undoubtedly dispels the thought of a surprise attack or flank.

"Nyuhuhu! I must admit, i'm a bit disappointed with such a lackluster finale! Have I taught you nothing-"

"HAPPY BIRTHDAY, KOROSENSEI!" We all cry out in unison with open arms as Kayano and Hayami openly brandish the birthday cake, a singular bright candle sunk into the soft pink frosting of a homemade strawberry shortcake kayano made. With a pudding centre as a bonus touch..

The condescending stripes vanish from Korosensei's expression as he slowly shambles over to us as if in a trance.

"F-for me?" He manages to sputter out through his shock, his face regaining its rose coloring

Terasaka cries out from the back "Obviously, baka! You see any other 'Korosensei' 'round here!?"

We all laugh at this, and Korosensei remains speechless. I suppose an explanation is in order.

I clear my throat.

"Korosensei, we know you don't really have a 'birthday', so we figured we might as well make it today, and celebrate your birthday as an entire class! It's the one and only chance we'll have to do it… plus this is a pretty significant date for all of us, so what better day?"

Then we all chant together:

"Arigato, Korosensei! For being the best teacher to ever live, and being the first person to believe in us! Thank you for being the first to truly see us! Happy birthday!"

Tears start forming in the corners of his eyes.

"I... I AM NOT WORTHY!" He cries as he wraps his tentacles around all of us and picks us up in the air, eliciting gasps of surprise from 28 mouths. Terasaka cries out again.

"OI! Teme! Put us down and blow out the damn candle already and make a wish!"

"Oh right!" He releases us and we all land ungracefully on the ground in a tangled pile.

"AHHH SORRY!" Korosensei extends his tentacles and picks us all up, placing us back on our feet. We all start laughing. Korosensei kneels on the ground, drooling as he stares at his birthday cake. We all form a circle around him and join hands, as we begin to sing.

"Happy birthday to you! Happy birthday to you!"

Korosensei takes in a lungful of air, his cheeks puffing as he prepares to blow out the candle.

'Haaaaappy birthdayyyyyy, dear senseiiiiiii!"

In this moment, I wish time would just stay frozen and we never had to grow up. Because in this moment I am truly happy, here with my family.

"Happy birthday to youuuuuuuuuuu!"

Korosensei starts exhaling.

The candle goes out.

A warm yellow liquid splatters across the ground in front of korosensei, covering the cake and coating my shoes. I look down to examine the fluid and realize I've seen it before...

Korosensei's blood.

The singing stops.

The laughing stops.

We're all too shocked to move.

We stare in silent horror at the grouping of grotesque black tentacles that lanced Korosensei's heart from behind. A monstrous, grotesque creature looms behind him.

He sputters, spewing more yellow fluid across the field. His tentacles all writhe helplessly in the air. He stares down in shock at the wound in his chest as the dark tentacles remove themselves and shoot back into the brush, returning to the monstrosity from which they came. A maniacal laughter is heard echoing across the field, followed by a blood curdling screech that has no human semblance.

But we're all still too frozen to move. My mouth is dry. My knees are unsteady. I feel as though I want to vomit. Everyone's hands are still locked together, stiff as though we're undergoing rigor mortis, as we all gaze down at our dying teacher as he faceplants into the pool of his own blood. With his dying breath, slicing through the deafening silence of our trauma, he whispers, nearly inaudibly:

"E-everyone… run… now… quickly…"

A chill runs down my spine.

Korosensei stops moving. His tentacles lay twitching their last movements, until they cease completely.

He's not moving.

Why isn't he moving?

Why can't I move?

Why isn't anyone moving?

I open my mouth to speak but no words come out.

I look around at everyone else's faces. Everyone has the same blank, confused, and traumatized look on their faces. A panic begins to swell inside of me, rising until my head feels as if it's about to explode. I need to run! Why can't I move? We all need to get out of here right now. I… I can't breathe. The world starts to go dark as I begin to hyperventilate. Many others are having the same reaction as me. Suddenly I feel a hard slap to my cheek and I fall on the ground. I look up and see Karma's angry face glaring down at me. But I also notice warm, tear trails along his cheeks glistening in the moonlight. I can't speak, but at least I can breathe again. Karma turns around and screams out to everyone

"MOVE! What the hell are we still doing here?! Get a grip!"

Everyone blinks rapidly as if coming out of a dream, their blank, traumatized stares become contorted with panic and anguish. Everyone looks to Karma with desperate eyes.

"We have to run, right now! Hurry!"

He begins to run off.

"Come on!" He yells back.

Everyone starts to run in different directions, blindly sprinting away while trying to see through their tears.

Everyone's scattered.

It's just me and one other person that remain, unable to muster the energy to leave.

Kayano.

I open my mouth to say something to her. I finally manage to find my voice, hoarse and shaky.

'K...Kayano...chan. We… we have to-"

I stop as I realize she isn't listening to me. She's huddled next to Korosensei, cradling his head in her lap. With hurt, pained eyes. I watch her to see what she's doing, since I don't have the energy to try and speak again. She starts muttering delusionally and my spirit breaks, and tears begin streaming down my face with a renewed vigor at her mumblings.

"No no no no no no no no! Korosensei! You're gonna be okay, you're going to be just fine, it's just a flesh wound! Just a little blood loss, that's all!"

With shaky, cupped hands, she begins futilely scooping up handfuls of warm yellow fluid off the ground and pours it back into the gaping hole in Koro-sensei's chest, as if it'll help. I can't bear this anymore.

"K-Kayano… he's…. He's already gone, th-there's nothing you can-"

She turns to me, and my heart stops. Her whole body is visibly shaking, with tears and mucus running all over her face.

"No! I can't accept that! I have to save him! Like he saved me! I can't… I have to… he's just…" then she starts crying uncontrollably as she collapses over Korosensei's corpse, her bitter tears streaming all over him. I extend a shaky arm out to her. I blink through tear-blurred eyes, and when I reopen them my eyes widen in horror and my breath hitches.

For behind Kayano is the 10 foot tall creature, with black tentacles, that seem more like shadowy tendrils, dripping with Korosensei's blood.

It seethes with killing intent, and there isn't a single doubt in my mind that this thing is malice incarnate.

"Kayano! We have to go now!"

I start to crawl towards her, when suddenly I'm scooped up in somebody's arms. I frantically look up to Karma's face. I begin to pound against his chest with my fists in protest as he starts to run away, but my blows have no strength behind them

"Karma! You have to go back. Kayano! She's, she's still there and that-that thing is"

Karma says nothing as he continues to run, further and further away. A sensation of helpless panic overwhelms me as I look over Karma's shoulder and watch the distance between us and Kayano grow more and more.

"Didn't you hear me Karma! We have to go back! She's all alone! Kayano is still back there and-!"

"I KNOW, NAGISA, BUT WE CAN'T!" He wails. His voice cracking with emotion. I feel his hold on me tighten as he whispers with a shaky breath,

'I.. I'm just one person… I can only carry one person… there's nothing I can do… I'm sorry."

I continue to watch over Karma's shoulder, like a small child being carried away from the circus, not wanting to leave.

I blink.

I reopen my eyes.

In a single fluid motion, a flurry of tentacles too fast for my eyes to even detect.

But I know they did.

As Kayano's decapitated head sails through the air.

Time slows down for me. In my mind I've already replayed the horrific scene a million times. I can feel it burn itself into my memory.

"K...kayano. No…" I lose my voice again. A pain shoots through my very soul.

I vomit over Karma's shoulder. I look back just in time to see Kayano's severed head hit the ground somewhere far away from her corpse, now lifeless on top of Korosensei. Two of my most precious friends. Gone.

Dead.

The world starts spinning. Colors fade from my vision as my head sags against Karma's shoulder. My breathing is in sync with Karma's footfalls.

Then everything goes black.

 **A/N: An 8000 word chapter?! Holy crap. I apologize. But there was just no way of avoiding it, I didn't wanna string this part of the story along any more. The tragedy has occurred. Time for decisions to be made. Paths to be chosen. Guilt to set in. Assassinations to be enacted. Stick around, and spiral down into madness with Nagisa and Karma.**

 **Next chapter: Karasuma learns about the tragedy... (POV of Karasuma).**


	6. Chapter 6

**A Darker Path**

TheReaperCometh

 **A/N: Here's the new chapter:** **thank you for all the positive reviews, I'm glad you guys are enjoying this so far.**

* * *

 **Chapter 5**

" **Grasping at straws"**

 **POV Karasuma**

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"Karasuma!" The director of national defense, Bakama Shinji, yells angrily.

I turn to look him directly in the eyes, trying my best to feign ignorance:

"Sir?"

"Would you mind explaining what the HELL just happened out there!?" He spits out through clenched teeth. He clutched the communication device in his hand so tightly that it shattered into dozens of fragments. A few of the communication agents jump at the sound, keeping their eyes glued forlornly to the static monitors, not daring to look towards the director lest they feel his wrath. No, they'd much rather keep it all directed at me. I can't blame them. I decide to continue playing dumb:

"The mission was a failure sir. Our teams were systematically eliminated by very capable and well prepared assailants, and-'

"Don't be coy with me, Karasuma! 'Very capable and well prepared assailants' that you trained! Can you explain how these students got ahold of military grade tranquilizers and stun batons? I'm beginning to question exactly whose side you were on during that shit-show" He seethes. I bow my head:

"With all due respect sir, I don't believe it to be fair or professional of you to be making unjustifiable accusations. I had no hand in those students' actions, nor did I give them instructions or provide them with weapons. I have been a reliable agent for many years now with an impeccable service record, and I would appreciate it if you didn't openly question my loyalty so quickly, sir."

Many of the communication specialists look at me through the corners of their eyes, and I can read the message that their stares are conveying loud and clear: "do you have a death wish?"

Luckily, I've worked with Director Shinji before. He knows of my skill and has witnessed firsthand the things I am willing to do in service of this country. I did not overstep my boundaries. Of course, if I were just an average office-work agent, I wouldn't have dared to rebuke the director.

Silence.

I maintain intense eye contact with the director, with an otherwise apathetic expression. I can feel him staring right through me, searching my thoughts to deduce the veracity of my words. Finally, he breaks eye contact and sighs loudly, staring absent-mindedly at the empty monitors. I'm not actually offended by his accusation against me: I know It was just an outburst of frustration and embarrassment that any person in his position would be feeling right now. He's undoubtedly angry at himself for not posting enough reinforcements, and failing to properly equip his soldiers against a target for which lethal force could not be authorized. And of course, he's obviously annoyed with his men for being defeated by high schoolers. During operations of utmost importance, lethal force is seldomly unauthorized - but it wasn't tonight, because it was thought that anyone who would attempt to save the 'alien' must be a very unique and potentially dangerous individual, worth capturing alive for information. So it's easy to understand how even someone like the director could've overlooked some preparations.

Shinji pinches the bridge of his nose, clenching his eyes shut while taking a deep breath.

"You're right, I stepped out of line. I apologize for my unprofessionalism"

I nod.

"So, the operation was an utter failure" he reiterates bluntly, glancing at his wristwatch: "and it's 11:00, so there's not enough time to mobilize another unit to intercept them. They're just kids though, I don't see how they could actually disable Shield and free that monster, so what can they gain from this? What was the point?" He muses to himself aloud. He looks around at all of us and waves his hand.

"Dismissed".

With that I get up and grab my jacket, draping it over my shoulder as I casually walk out of the operations room.

As soon as I exit the dreary building, A wide smile forms over my lips. Or at least a wide smile by my standards. The word failure was said so many times tonight, yet ironically enough, I can hear its antithesis blaring loudly through my mind. Success! Although to what degree of success I don't know: I wasn't lying when I told the director I took no part in the students' operation - I have no idea what their plan is now. Whether they find a way to actually free korosensei, or they kill him as a proper farewell, I'll have to wait and find out at the same time as the rest of the world, via the news. I had thought about going to the school right now, but even If I were to drive excessively fast, it would take me nearly 30 minutes to get there. Everything would be over by the time I arrived. I already know the students made it safely to Korosensei past all the guards. He'll watch over them, so their security is guaranteed.

Right?

After all, there was nobody else posted on the mountain. No more soldiers. No more assassins. No more danger. And even if there was, there's nothing Korosensei wouldn't be able to handle if anyone was actually dumb enough the cross the barrier. I climb into my car and turn the ignition on, letting my mind run as the engine hums to life. Despite my self reassurance, why can't I shake this horrible feeling? My elation was short lived, now replaced with wavering uncertainty. My hands are clammy. My intuition is rarely wrong.

Should I go to class 3-E?

No. I shake the thought away. I just have to believe in them, like I said I would. They've made it this far. I slowly drive out of the underground parking lot, leaving behind the dreary operations centre. I catch a glimpse of my reflection in the side-view mirror. I do a double take, nearly unable to recognize the doleful, brooding face that stares back. Am I really that agitated? I need to distract myself. I flick on the radio in hopes of finding some good music to divert my attention. Either some calming jazz, or some hard rock, i could go either way right now. But much to my chagrin, I find that every station is playing the same tune, that is neither rock nor jazz.

Of course they're all talking about the 'alien' trapped on Kunugigaoka's mountainside. Every station is practically counting down the seconds until The Spear is activated. I flick the radio off. Well that didn't uplift me at all. It's probably best if I just drive in silence, listening to the hum of my engine and the whirring of passing cars.

I get home and park in my garage. I remain in the dark, sitting in silent contemplation for a few minutes before finally getting out of my vehicle. I walk up the front steps, which are familiar only to my footsteps, and enter my dark home.

My whole life I've lived in my own secluded world. Sure, I've come to know fellow field agents over the years, but never past the point of camaraderie. The cold truth is, death is an integral part of my job. One day you could be talking to a co-worker about an upcoming mission, family matters, his or her upcoming family events, and the next thing you know, you don't see them for a few days so you start asking around the workplace until someone finally tells you that they died in the line of duty. A jarring statement that would certainly hurt if it regarded someone you cared deeply for. That's why myself and many others in my work force choose to just become acquainted with those around us. Nothing more. We don't interact outside of work, and we certainly don't talk about our personal lives other than basic information.

It would simply be too mentally and emotionally taxing to have to deal with the death of a close friend on a monthly basis. The loss of an acquaintance is hardly more devastating than the feeling of loss you feel for the names in the daily paper's obituary. You may mourn the loss of life, but not the person themselves, and quickly become desensitized to it. But the students of E-class are no "acquaintances." They have each woven a special piece of fabric in the tapestry that is my life: and if I were to lose a single one, it would all unravel. Because of the last few months I've spent at Kunugigaoka, I've found my house seems more and more empty when I return at night. I find myself sometimes whispering quietly to myself involuntarily upon entering.

"I'm home"

And if I really focus and close my eyes, I can almost hear a response.

"Welcome home, honey! Just in time, dinner's ready! How was work?"

An imaginary voice, bearing no semblance to anyone in specific will say. I haven't given my loneliness enough thought to actually think about someone in particular to greet me. I've had a taste of what having a family is like this past year with E class. I'm beginning to understand why so many agents retire early and settle down, something that had seemed so bizarre to me until recently. If you had asked me 8 months ago if I ever wanted to have kids, I'd have certainly said no. Now?

"Maybe" would be my likely response. If they turned out like any of the students from End class, I wouldn't mind. Although I already know I would be a ridiculously over-protective father if I ever had a daughter. No boy would ever be good enough for her, and she wouldn't be able to keep a boyfriend for more than a week before I scared them away. This would definitely lead to her having secret relationships, sneaking out at night. I'd likely bug her phone to check her texts and calling history. I smile inwardly. Sometimes I just go off on tangents like this, picturing what it would be like having a family. Being a father. Being a husband. And every time I do, I come to the same conclusion.

It would be nice.

Although realistically, I know that if I ever had children, it wouldn't be for at least another decade. I enjoy my work too much, and don't have the patience right now for children. And I certainly wouldn't want to be one of those absent fathers that always misses important events and disappoints their family, because he's too busy with work.

I walk into my gloomy kitchen and flick the lights on, the only sound now being the quiet humming of electricity coursing through the light bulbs. I open the freezer and find the first microwavable meal I see and throw it in the microwave for 3 minutes. Coming home to real meals would be nice as well. I try to avoid microwaveable food as much as possible. I know they're unhealthy. But after long, tiring days, it just can't be helped.

Embarrassingly enough, over the last two months, I've had a tendency to sleep next to a body pillow at night. My mind often wanders into a dreamscape, entertaining the prospect of living with another. Maybe I'll be ready to settle down sooner than I thought?

The microwave beeps. Grabbing my supper, I head over to the living room and sit down on the black leather couch, flicking the tv on which is already naturally on the news channel. It's the only thing I ever watch, after all. I can't help but smirk through mouthfuls of food at the news banner:

"BREAKING NEWS: WORLD-DESTROYING ALIEN TO BE KILLED BY TOP SECRET SATELLITE WEAPON"

The specifics have yet to be disclosed to the public. Director Shinji will likely be giving a lengthy cover-up explanation for the whole fiasco tomorrow. I swallow my food and listen intently as a news reporter standing at the entrance of the mountain's trail starts to speak. I turn up the volume.

"...and as you can see here, the newly formed International Defense Association against Global Threats - or IDAGT for short - has erected some sort of orange energy field around the peak of the mountain, which is apparently detaining an extraterrestrial lifeform capable of destroying the entire planet. When and how it got here, has not been divulged. And if you look out your windows at the sky…"

The camera man shifts the camera angle towards the sky, zooming in on the bright red glow Illuminating the night sky."

"A newly developed satellite weapon will be firing down on this mountain to eradicate the trapped alien. The government has assured us that this experimental device, named "The Spear", is completely benign to all living things other than the alien being targeted, and produces no radiation. The director of national defense has divulged to us that The Spear will be firing at 12:00 a.m tonight, which is just 33 minutes away. I'm Asuma Young, and you're watching JBC news network. Stay tuned after this short commercial break, as we update you live, on the scene."

I look back down at my plate which has now grown cold. It's not worth getting up to heat it up again. I might miss something important. I shove a mouthful of cold peas and potato into my mouth.

"We interrupt this sponsored broadcast to bring you newly received information on what is happening up on this mountaintop. We've just received word that there are at least 20 high school students currently within the boundaries of the barrier! No word has been given as to why they were allowed up there and - hold on, I'm receiving new information." Asuma says as he angles his head down with a finger pressed over the communication device in his head. Listening intently, his face contorts with shock and horror. I slowly swallow my food with baited breath, waiting for his proclamation. I can only pray that the only thing he has to say is the denouncement of my gut feeling.

"20 high school students who have just emerged from the forest! Some of them are gravely injured, and appear traumatized, leading officials to believe that the alien must have become hostile towards them! Paramedics have been contacted and are on their way. Police are escorting them in Kunugigaoka high school as we speak, so that they can tell the police exactly what happened up there. More on that in just a couple minutes, so stay tuned"

The camera angle shifts to the entrance of the school, showing the students being escorted in by the police. Some are limping, and a few are on stretchers. Who exactly, i can't discern.

Not that it matters who anyway. They're all equally important.

But what actually happened? My mind is racing, in a turmoil of confusion and concern.

What on that mountain could've done this?

It couldn't have been Korosensei. Impossible. He values those children more than his own life.

But then, pray tell, where was he when the students were being attacked?

A tingling shiver goes down my spine.

Maybe it was him. Perhaps he became spiteful from his hopeless situation and lashed out?

Maybe he never even cared for the kids at all, and he's been hiding his true nature this whole year, biding his time until he could strike.

I almost laugh at my ridiculous train of thought. Nobody cares for those kids as much as he does. Perhaps not even their own parents. He's gone to absurd lengths to help, guide, and protect them that far exceed what could be explained by saying he was only doing it to deceive us.

I sit in silence, detached from reality in pensive concentration for the entire commercial break.

Maybe if I had gone over there immediately after work I would've been able to save them. I put too much faith in them. This is my fault.

Only the sound of Asuma Young's voice snaps me back to reality. I blink twice to clear my mind and refocus on the tv screen.

"...the police have refused to divulge any details on the situation, other than the fact that the recovered students are currently being treated and will make full recoveries. A few of the students informed officials that some of them still remain on the mountain, and are in grave danger. However, Director of Defense, Bakama Shinji, has ordered police and military not to take any action as it is too dangerous to try and recover the students when the hostile creature is still at large. They have been ordered to wait until Spear has fired before they can search within the Shield. Director Shinji has assured us that steps are being taken to hasten the preparation process for the Spear to be fired, and it should be ready by 11:50. Whether 15 minutes is too long a wait to be able to save the remaining students' lives, we'll just have to wait and find out. Our thoughts and prayers go out to the trapped students on the mountainside"

A picture of all the students in E class along with their names are shown on screen.

"And if you are the parent or guardian of any of these children, you are urged to immediately come to Kunugigaoka."

I need to find out what happened.

I certainly qualify as a guardian of E-class's students.

I grab my jacket and make a beeline for my front door, not even bothering to finish my food or turn the tv off. I grab my keys and throw the door open.

My mouth goes dry.

"Karasuma-sensei...I...I didn't know where else to go" Karma says to me in a hoarse whisper, his eyes devoid of all light, unable to make eye contact. I can see dried tear trails caked on his cheeks.

I look down to the person in his arms.

Nagisa, unconscious. No, he's just asleep. After all, people don't cry and whimper while they're knocked out.

This is my fault.

Unable to find the words, I step to the side and open the door widely to allow Karma to enter.


	7. Chapter 7

**A Darker Path**

TheReaperCometh

 **A/N: Warning: this chapter contains disturbing themes and scenes of gore. If you would consider yourself to be easily disturbed, or squeamish, this chapter will likely not go over well for you.**

 **For the rest of you dark souls reading, enjoy :)**

 **Chapter 6**

"When it Rains it Pours"

 **POV Karma**

 **11:15 p.m (20 minutes earlier)**

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I'm running as quickly as I can with no destination in mind. My mind racing, and heart pounding.

So long as it's far away from the mountain, I don't care where my legs take me.

I look down at Nagisa in my arms, whose sleeping face is a trembling mask of agony. Looking at his expression forces me to recall his distraught voice from just a few minutes ago, as he begged me to go back for Kayano. Never before have I seen such a display of hysteria from anyone.

I couldn't have saved her. It was an impossibility. It was either him, or her... and the correct choice was obvious to me.

I just hope Nagisa will be able to see that, and forgive me...

Where am I?

It's starting to rain, quickly escalating into a torrential downpour. I start darting my eyes back and forth, scanning street signs that I pass to try and figure out where the hell I am. The rain continues coming down more and more mercilessly. Hard droplets blown by violent winds pelt my face like thousands of needles, until my face goes numb and I can no longer feel anything at all. The biting wind howls, and I take a deep breath, filling my lungs with an invigorating rush. If not for my delirium, I'd be enjoying this. Puddles are already forming along the streets, and water has already soaked its way into my shoes, creating a sickening squish with every footfall. I have to find somewhere to take shelter. Suddenly I see a familiar sign. It's Nagisa's street.

Gee, must be my lucky day.

I use my last bit of strength to sprint down the street until I reach his house. His mother's car is parked in the driveway and a surge of anger courses through me at the prospect of having to explain what happened to that bitch. I don't feel like talking to anyone right now, especially not to her.

I reach the front door and take a moment to catch my breath under the roof of his house. Amazingly enough, Nagisa is still out like a light. In fact, his face looks... almost peaceful now, less agitated. Who knew getting blasted in the face by a torrent of rain could have such a therapeutic effect? I envy him. I wish I could sleep through the aftermath of this hellish night.

Hoisting him over one shoulder to free up a hand, I knock on the door, bracing myself for the shit-fest i'm about to find myself in. For a moment I entertain the thought of just ringing the doorbell, setting Nagisa on the ground, and leaving. Like some sort of cliche, where a mother leaves her baby at the foot of an orphanage. His mother would find him, and I wouldn't have to deal with her. If it were anyone else other than Nagisa, I might've actually done that.

But it is Nagisa, and I feel obligated to stay with him. Plus I know leaving him alone with his psychotic bipolar mother, as vulnerable as he is, would be a big mistake. And as much as I hate to admit it, Hiromi does deserve an explanation as to what the hell happened. I guess the truth about E-class being an assassination classroom will finally come out. I wouldn't be surprised if Nagisa is whisked away to the other side of the planet by his mother tomorrow, to get as far away as possible from here.

I knock again, harder this time.

I look in the window, all the lights are off.

For Christ's sake.

Still no answer. I ring the doorbell incessantly for a solid 30 seconds in frustration. I sling Nagisa over my other shoulder to give my one arm a rest.

So now I guess there's only one thing to do, though I doubt it'll work. I've never known Nagisa's front door to be unlocked under any circumstances. I reach for the door handle and give it a hesitant twist and a tentative push.

Shockingly enough, the door opens. Well great, now I feel like an idiot.

Taking Nagisa back into both my arms I creep inside and shut the door with a small kick. The only sound now is the perpetual drumming of rain against the roof and the muted sounds of thunder in the distance. It's pitch black, and I fumble around for a lightswitch unsuccessfully. Then I remember Nagisa's front entrance hallway doesn't have a light. His mother must be the only person dumb enough on the entire planet to not have an entrance light installed. I curse her name quietly, murmuring all sorts of improvised insults as I slowly skulk through the somber corridor. I take a couple steps forward and trip over something, causing me to stumble for a few steps before regaining my balance. Nagisa comes dangerously close to slipping out of my grasp.

The hell was that? It felt like a pole or rod of some sort.

I extend a leg out around me to try and feel for the object again, but it seems I've stumbled too far away to be able to reach it that easily. Whatever. As I continue to fumble through the darkness, I can't help but wonder:

Where is Nagisa's mother? She's definitely home. If she were anywhere else, her car would be gone. So she has to be here.

I decide to cast that thought away for now. It's not like I really want to find her anyway.

Having only my mental map of the layout of Nagisa's house to go off of, I slowly shuffle my way down the hall towards what I believe to be Nagisa's room. I cling to a wall to help guide me, feeling around for a light switch as I go, still to no avail.

This is starting to piss me off. Where the hell are all the lights? Finally, I come upon a room and flick on the lights. I recoil as the sudden burst of light assaults my eyes, forcing me to squint. I was right, it's Nagisa's room. I lay him on his bed, eliciting a soft whimper from his sleeping form. But he doesn't wake. I can't even begin to fathom how traumatized someone has to be in order to slip into a near-comatose state.

I then begin retracing my steps through the house, using the light shining from Nagisa's illuminated room to find the light switch in the hall right outside. Much better. I make my way through the house, activating each light switch as I go like a series of checkpoints. I grumble as I realize I had expertly managed to miss every single switch this house has to offer on my way to Nagisa's room.

Now I find myself near the entrance again, the only part of the house, along with the conjoined kitchen, still cloaked in darkness. To my credit, I was correct about one thing: Nagisa's front entrance has no light. I notice the shadow of the object I had tripped on earlier.

Its irregular shape both troubles and confounds me. What the hell is that?

I take a step towards the kitchen's lightswitch and my foot makes an odd squish sound. I instinctively retract my food, and the pitter patter of viscous droplets dripping from my shoe back to the floor sends an unnerving tingle down my spine.

My hand reaches the light switch and I flick it on.

I wish I hadn't.

There's blood. And entrails. Everywhere. All I see is red, painting the kitchen floor, the counter, the refrigerator. Juxtaposing bloody handprints and smears stain the white walls, like something directly out of a horror movie.

My eyes dart back and forth uncontrollably, absorbing every inch of gore they spot and morbidly engraving it into my memory. Then they rest upon the culprit responsible for tripping me earlier.

Nagisa's mother. My stomach lurches and I look away, staving off the urge to vomit.

What a horrendous sight.

She's hunched over, back against the wall. All her limbs are bent at sickening angles, bloody bones protruding from her kneecaps and elbows where they were snapped. I shudder as I realize the thing I had stumbled over earlier was one of her grotesquely demented legs, sticking out into the hallway. I look away, but the image of her corpse still remains burned into my retinas. I counted multiple gaping stab wounds across her flesh. Her head is hung low, with blood soaked hair concealing her face. It isn't difficult to imagine what her expression must look like. It's amazing how much detail you can remember from a gruesome scene after just a quick glance. I swallow the bile that had risen in my throat as I look back at Hiromi, compelled by some absurd desire to confirm what I had just seen.

Another stomach lurch confirms it.

Her chest is ripped open, exposing her ribcage which appears to have also been torn open. Her ribs are protruding out of her body, like ivory claws reaching out to grab me. There's an empty void in her chest cavity where her heart should be. dozens of gashes mutilate her entire body, including particularly deep ones along her wrists, leaving gnarled flaps of skin. A cut along her abdomen allows me to vividly picture her evisceration. Possibly worst of all, her clothes are in tatters, indicating another act of indecency other than torture and murder had taken place.

I look away and vomit over and over, completely emptying my stomach until it has no more bile left to offer. My fluids mix with the blood on the floor, creating a disgusting cesspool at my feet.

There's horribly dark bruising around Hiromi's throat that vaguely forms the shape of very large hands. My stomach ties into a knot, as I realize with horror that what I first perceived to have been her head hung low, face covered with bloody hair, is actually just the back of her head. Her neck was snapped a complete 180, causing her head to now be facing backwards.

This was not just a typical murder.

This was a premeditated, depraved killing fueled by the darkest of hatreds and sadistic needs. It's clear that some of these mutilations were done to her after she was already dead.

What kind of sick fuck could've done something like this?

I can't bear to look at it anymore. I can't stay here. I can't let Nagisa awake to this horrid scene. We need somewhere to go.

I have no energy after having just upchucked the contents of my belly. I'm too tired and drained to make the trek to my house, which is about 30 km away. That leaves only one option. The only other person I can think to turn to right now is Karasuma sensei. He's about 12 km away, if I remember correctly. I think I can make it there. No, I know I can make it there. For Nagisa.

My knees are trembling and I feel like crumpling to the floor. This is by far the most disturbing, gory scene I've ever witnessed. I force my unsteady legs to move me back to Nagisa's room.

He's still sound asleep, blissfully ignorant to the gruesome tragedy that took place just a few strides away from his bed. I lift him up and start walking back towards the front door. I just want to get out of here.

I chastise myself for having not turned the kitchen light off again, for my eyes once again bear witness to Hiromi's brutalized corpse. I avert my gaze. Nagisa murmurs in his sleep, which sends a panic through my whole body, and I quicken my pace to traverse the room. I pray to god that he doesn't wake up right now, of all times.

It's no longer raining, which for the sake of my own sanity, I choose to believe signifies the end of tragedies for the night. Under the ambient light of the Spear, I make my way towards Karasuma sensei's house…

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 **POV Karasuma**

 **11:36 (Present time).**

I step to the side, door wide open, silently inviting the red haired boy to enter. He takes a step inside. I swallow to wet my throat.

"Karma, what happened up th-"

I'm caught off guard as Karma, without a word, extends his arms, offering Nagisa to me. He looks broken and exhausted, I recognize the look in his crimson eyes - vacant and distraught. I've seen it many times before in agents that return from missions that went horribly wrong - I rarely see them return to work ever again after that. I take Nagisa away from him, and he immediately collapses on the floor, sitting upright against the wall. I glance down at the fragile boy in my arms and I wonder why he's knocked out, as I see no sign of injury. I need answers.

I narrow my eyes.

"Karma."

He continues to stare blankly at the wall.

"Karma. Tell me what happened".

I set Nagisa down on the bench behind me, propping him up against its back. I kneel down in front of Karma and gently shake his legs.

"Karma! What happened! Tell me goddammit!"

I realize how unfair this is of me. He comes here seeking help and refuge, only to be yelled at for answers when he's clearly in no state to be discussing what he's seen. But I need to know.

With blank eyes, Karma slowly lifts his head up to mine. He's looking right at me, but I can tell he can't see me. It's a miracle he made it all the way to my house. He opens his mouth and a dry voice croaks out,

"I… couldn't do anything. Believe me, sensei… I tried, but I couldn't save them…" Tears start to trickle from his unblinking eyes.

"Save who, Karma, who's in trouble? What happened? Who attacked you?"

He blinks for the first time since he entered my house, and seems to notice me for the first time.

"Kayano… a few others… Nagisa's mother… I couldn't save them. They're all…"

He chokes on his words for a second. The air around us goes cold.

"...dead."

The word hits me harder than any bullet ever has.

I allow myself to lean back against the wall to steady myself. Kayano and a few students are dead?

But I need more answers.

"Karma, you need to tell me WHO attacked you. And how was Nagisa's mother involved?"

"Not a who… a what. I… don't know what it was. Nagisa's mother… found her at his house… already dead."

I take a moment to decipher his broken sentence.

"What sort of creature attacked you? Was it the same thing that killed Nagisa's mother?"

Karma lays down against the floor, turning his back to me.

"Giant...black...tentacle monster. Not korosensei. It...killed him too."

My eyes widen. Another tentacle monster?! And it killed korosensei? Did it escape? Is there a murderous monster on the loose?

"Karma, did this tentacle monster escape Shield while you were retreating?"

A moment of silence. I see his whole body quivering slightly. But he makes no sound, not even a whimper. He's a tough kid. I feel like a real asshole right now for pushing him so much.

"Karma! You need to-"

"No. I don't think it had any means of escaping."

That's all I needed to hear. I reach for my phone and call Bakama Shinji and alert him of the potential threat. I tell him what Karma said, and that he should fire the Spear ASAP, and post reinforcement troops equipped with anti-tentacle weaponry around the vicinity of the mountain to look for signs of the creature's escape. Bakama hangs up immediately after I finish speaking without saying a word. He obviously understands the gravity of the situation and I know he'll do everything possible to address this pressing concern.

I look back at Karma. He's no longer shuddering, his breathing is back to normal.

"Karma?"

A soft snore is his reply. I gaze up at the ceiling absent-mindedly, trying to speculate possible suspects. It has to be someone who knows E-class, and has ties to the government or military. Nobody else could've known about the situation tonight, and without ties to the government it would have been impossible to procure the tentacle serum, because that information was top classified. The culprit somehow knew that E-class would be going to see Korosensei tonight. Assuming the beast that attacked the students tonight is the same person that killed Nagisa's mother - which is a logical conclusion - and given the fact that Shield was erected a full week ago, There's only one possible deduction. The killer must've murdered Nagisa's mother earlier in the night as a human, then passed through Shield, injected himself or herself with the tentacle serum, and then gone up to E class where he or she awaited for the students' arrival. So the one responsible for the atrocities tonight has ties with the government, knows E-class very well, and seems to hold a grudge particularly against Nagisa. I'm sure these filters narrow down the list of suspects greatly, but my mind is racing so much, overloaded with information that I can't think of anyone in particular.

I look at my phone again. It's 11:43. As if on cue, a bright light suddenly floods the entire house, momentarily blinding me.

Spear has fired.

I open my eyes as the light dies down a little bit. Through squinted eyes, I can see a massive pillar of red light striking down from the heavens into the top of Kunugigaoka's mountain. It's a mesmerizing and reassuring spectacle, for I know that it is purging the world of a horrible abomination.

Just as quickly as it came down, the beam becomes thinner and thinner, dimmer and dimmer until the horizon is once again plunged in darkness. I blink, and it's as if it never even happened. But the lack of a red glow in the night sky confirms that the spectacular beam of light had indeed been launched.

I let out a sigh of relief.

There's only one thing left to do now.

I get up and carefully sling Karma and Nagisa over my shoulders, carrying them upstairs and into the guest room, a few doors down from my own. Why I even have a guest room is beyond me, the house came with it and I never bothered to change it. I pull back the covers, which proves to be challenging with two bodies slung over my shoulders, and carefully set them both on the bed next to each other. I only have the one extra bed. I leave the bedroom quietly and shut the door.

Now to my next destination. I creep down to my cellar and grab the first full bottle of whiskey I can find, which happens to be a 60 year old Nikka I had been saving for a special occasion. Fine by me, the stronger the better. I walk back up to the main floor, and after grabbing a shot glass, I take a seat at the kitchen table. I pop it open and take a long drink, gulping down two mouthfuls before I remove the bottle from my lips. As The liquor travels down my throat, it leaves a wonderful burning sensation in its wake. I immediately bring the bottle back up for another mouthful. I rarely drink alcohol. I try to avoid it aside from an occasional beer now and again, or during special events or celebrations. I hate being even slightly inebriated. I like being in complete control of my thoughts and actions, and so my whole life I've generally avoided alcohol, and put a taboo on non-medicinal drugs. But tonight is a necessary exception. I really need to be drunk right now. I take another long gulp. I let out a satisfied sigh, and I can taste the strong aftertaste of the beverage on my breath.

I fill my shot glass to the brim, and with a swift backwards tip of my head, I down the warming fluid. I can feel my cheeks turn rosy. I wipe my mouth with my sleeve. My original hope to drink myself into an incoherent stupor and forget about tonight backfires as my mind subconsciously keeps going over the events of tonight between sips, drawing the same tormenting conclusion that I had wanted to ignore, over and over.

This is my fault. I never should have allowed them to go tonight.

So this is what true guilt feels like. Not that guilt is a foreign concept to me: I've made mistakes in the past. But I've always been able to quickly look past them. But not this time. I can tell this guilt is much more genuine, rooting itself deeply into my conscience. My mind keeps going over Asuma Young's report earlier, and the word he used to describe E-class' students. My students.

Children.

Remembering the utterance of that single word feels like a kick in the groin.

It's been so long since I saw any of E-class' students as children. So long since I had recognized the correlation between them and the connotation of the word "children". I realize now, that at the end of the day, that is what they are. Young, inexperienced, and naive.

What was I thinking?

They aren't master assassins, or soldiers, or agents.

How could I have let them go tonight?

For the first time in a long while, I feel frustrated - no, infuriated - with myself.

Because I fucked up. I take another long sip of whiskey, attempting to fill the growing void in my chest.

I should've stopped them. I shouldn't have allowed them to go

Or I should've been there with them.

I should've listened to my gut feeling earlier. If I had driven there as fast as possible immediately after being dismissed I might've been there in time. I might've been able to do something.

I clench my fists so hard that my nails dig into my palms and they start to bleed.

 _ **It's your fault**_

A dark tone whispers from deep within my conscious.

" I know... " I grumble aloud, taking another gulp of whiskey.

The venomous voice continues,

 _ **Why didn't you stop them, Karasuma?**_

"Because… I trusted them and their abilities. And besides, they probably would've gone even without my consent".

 _ **You're just trying to convince yourself. Why weren't you there, Karasuma?**_

"I… couldn't be there. I had to stay behind and do my job. My hands were tied, I couldn't be involved-"

 _ **So you value your job over the lives of your students?**_

"What, of course not!" I take another shot of whiskey. The bottle's almost empty.

 _ **Then why weren't you with them? They're just children, Karasuma-**_

"I know". I'm starting to get a headache.

 _ **You should've been there. You could've saved them. It's your fault.**_

I feel my blood start to boil.

"I...know" I spit out with a clenched jaw.

 _ **And now some of them are dead. Innocent children, entrusted to you, to train and watch over. You failed them. You weren't there when they needed you most. You-**_

'I KNOW!"

I exclaim, jumping to my feet and hurling the whiskey bottle across the room. It shatters into thousands of fragments against the wall, spraying glass and the last remnants of liquid everywhere. The voice recedes in the back of my mind. But I know it hasn't left for good yet.

I sit back down at the kitchen table, head resting in hands. I take a few deep breaths. I feel as though all the guilt I've ever bottled up over fallen comrades in the past just came gushing out. My head throbbing, I rest my head in my arms against the table. I close my eyes and slow my breathing, focusing on just one thing. Sleep.

Finally, from a mixture of alcohol and exhaustion, the world fades to black and I succumb to a deep slumber.

I won't be getting up for my 6 a.m jog, that's for sure.

 **A/N: As if things could get any worse! What will happen now? How will Nagisa take the news of his mother's death? Was the malicious tentacle monster really eradicated by the Spear? I Hope this chapter wasn't too disturbing lol.**

 **Next chapter: POV Nagisa.**


	8. Chapter 8

**A Darker Path**

TheReaperCometh

 **A/N I am sooooooo sorry about this late update! I was visiting my cousins for three days, and had no time to do any writing :O! I missed two days of school because of this, so when I came back I was absolutely swamped with homework! I know those aren't good excuses for being so late on this update, but I hope you can forgive me! (Please?).**

 **Anyway, enjoy the chapter.**

* * *

 **Chapter 7:**

"Turmoil"

 **POV Nagisa**

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I open my eyes and blink away the tears.

"Karma! W-we have to go back… for Kayano…"

No response from Karma, as he continues to carry me further and further away. I look up at his face, hard and cold, with only a slight crease in his mouth that couldn't even be considered a frown.

"Karma… d-didn't you hear me? We have to go back!"

Still no response. Tears are streaming down my face. A chill runs down my spine as a sinister grin manifests on his face. He looks down at me with a sympathetic glimmer in his eyes, but his maniacal smile contradicts his soft gaze.

"Nagisa, I'm not going back… Kayano is dead, and it's all YOUR fault"

"W-what? Why would you say that, K-Karma-kun?" I sputter in disbelief: his words feel like a knife to the heart.

An insensitive chuckle escapes his mouth.

"Nagisa, coming to rescue Koro-sensei was YOUR idea. You were the one who deduced Karasuma-sensei's underlying message a few days ago. We wouldn't be here right now if you hadn't felt the need to share your self-fulfilling interpretation of Karasuma's words with the class, now would we?"

My mind starts racing, a turmoil of confusion and questions somersaulting in my brain.

"I don't understand...what are you implying?"

"I'm SAYING, it's your fault we're in this mess right now. Perhaps you were even just hearing what you wanted to hear. Maybe Karasuma actually was simply telling us to stay uninvolved. But you couldn't have that, could you Nagisa? You wanted to - no - NEEDED to save korosensei. To play the hero and be praised just one last time, because that's how pathetic and needy you are. You put words in Karasuma's mouth, and manipulated us into believing you" Karma's tone becomes hostile.

"And so you lied to us, deceiving us into believing that there was a secret message hidden in Karasuma's words, that he wanted us to go to the mountain tonight! And look where your egotistical subterfuge has gotten us now. Kayano's gone, and who knows how many others will die tonight."

My stomach bile churns like the violent seas, and my head feels woozy. Tears begin falling from my eyes with renewed vigor, and no amount of blinking can clear my vision now.

"N-no… Karma, you can't mean that… this isn't my fault at -"

"You were so desperate to be noticed and praised by korosensei just one more time. And now Kayano's blood is on your hands. Maybe if you weren't such a scared little bitch, and had been capable of moving on your own, I would have been able to carry Kayano to safety and the three of us could've escaped, together. But instead you froze. And I was only able to grab you." I wince at the pain that comes from Karma's harsh words.

"Maybe I should've left you to die. You're not worth saving" He spits out callously.

Now anger swells inside of me, and I start beating my fists against Karma's chest.

"No! You're wrong! This isn't my fault! This isn't my fault! Kayano's blood isn't on my hands!"

"It's not? Then what do you call that?"

I follow his gaze down to my quivering hands.

Soaked in red. Drenched in blood.

I look in horror as the red starts spreading, insidiously creeping up my arms.

"N-n-no.."

The warm blood continues to wash over me: my entire arms are now covered in it. I look back over Karma's shoulder back at Kayano, fading away in the distance.

Just in time to see her head fly off her body.

Despite the distance, I see Kayano's lips moving as her head sails through the air in slow motion, and I can hear her voice:

"Why didn't you save me Nagisa?! I thought we were friends! Why did you sit there and do nothing!"

I shut my eyes in helplessness and clamp my ears shut with my hands. My entire body, head to toe, is now saturated in blood. Kayano's blood.

Her resentful voice echoes through my head, filled with rage.

"I hate you, Nagisa! You let me die! I'll never forgive you! I hope you burn in hell one day for this!"

I can't take this anymore. I wail in agony.

"Stop! Get out of my head! Please! Get out of my head!"

Suddenly, My stomach drops as I begin to fall to the ground. I land with a heavy thud and my breath escapes me.

Karma keeps running.

"Wait! K-Karma! Don't leave me!"

I try to get up and chase after him when suddenly a hand grabs my ankles. I frantically look back and my heart skips a beat. My mouth contorts to produce a scream but no sound comes out. All air escapes my lungs.

Because clinging to my leg, is Kayano's headless corpse, a sickening wound where her neck once connected to her head. Blood is still leaking from her neck. She tightens her grip around my ankle. Not that she needed to, I'm too petrified to move. She extends her other hand slowly out towards my face.

"Why, Nagisa? Why did you leave me? Why didn't you even try to save me, Nagisa?"

Her gnarled digits have reached my face, sealing my mouth with a vice grip. I still can't move. How is this happening? To my horror the headless corpse pulls itself on top of me.

"Why, Nagisa? I just want an answer. Do you really not care about me at all? I thought you liked me. I liked you! How could you let me die like that? It was so painful, Nagisa… and cold."

A single tear drips pathetically from my eye onto her bony hand. I sputter out through her hand over my mouth.

"K-Kayano… I'm so sorry… I didn't know what to do. I was just so... so scared! I never even got the chance to to tell you…' I trail off, choking on my words.

Kayano's grip loosens slightly, inviting me to continue. I take a deep breath.

"I… I love you Kayano. From the bottom of my heart. I would never purposely let you die! If it had been up to me, I would've made Karma rescue you and leave me! Please Kayano, forgive me…"

Silence. Then Kayano's voice pipes up, as sweet as honey.

'Awwww,,, Nagisa-kun, that's… disgusting"

Her corpse crawls on top of me. Pushing me flat against the ground. A cold voice resonates from deep within her body, coming out of her headless neck, sending a chill down my spine.

"You think I could possibly forgive you?!"

She tips her gaping neck down towards me, and viscous dark blood trickles out onto my face. I gag as some of it enters my mouth, a rusty iron flavor sweeping over my tastebuds. I try to push Kayano off of me, but for some reason it feels as though she weighs a million pounds. She doesn't even budge. Blood starts to pour out of her neck at an even faster rate, a cascading waterfall of crimson ooze drenching my face, seeping into my pores and filling my mouth and nose. I'm literally drowning in blood.

"Kayano..!" I can no longer speak. I feel my lungs fill with the thick liquid, and I start to asphyxiate, desperately writhing and squirming under Kayano's impossibly heavy body. My vision starts to blur and my body seizes up.

I guess this is how I die.

I feel Kayano's body snuggle into my chest.

"Goodnight, Nagisa-kun… I'll be with you in your nightmares...forever…"

I shut my eyes and accept my fate.

.

.

.

My eye flash open.

Where am I? Why am I alive? What happened?

I bolt upright, and my eyes dart wildly around the dark room I find myself in, desperately grasping for any details that might help me understand where I am.

Am I in the afterlife?

No, I doubt there'd be comfy beds in hell.

My heart is pounding faster than a jackhammer: loudly, disorientingly, drowning any and all coherent thoughts I begin to piece together. My arms outstretch at my side to stabilize myself. my hand feels a depression in the mattress right beside me.

Someone was in this bed with me, recently.

My eyes fixate on the red glow of an alarm clock in the far corner of the room on a table. It's 5 a.m.? What on earth happened?

But that means... everything that just happened- Karma saying those nasty things, Kayano's reanimated corpse - it was all just a dream.

I let out a sigh of relief and press a cold palm against my feverish forehead, falling back down against the bed. In the end though, Kayano's still dead, I remind myself miserably. a replay of her headless corpse falling onto koro-sensei's lifeless mass enters my mind and I clench my eyes shut.

I try to get out of the bed, but I'm too unstable. My knees are shaking. A cold wind from an open window blows right through me, chilling me to the bone and intensifying the coldness of my sweat-slicked skin.

My mind is buzzing with questions and I know there's no way I'll be able to fall back asleep until I get asnwers to most of them… plus I don't exactly want to enter the dreamscape again right now. I muster up the energy to rise to my feet. I pull the blanket off the mattress and drape it around my body. My feet recoil and shuffle hesitantly across the cold hardwood as I creep towards the door. I feel like a small child getting up in the middle of the night after having a nightmare to seek protection and reassurance from his parents. Who my 'parents' are in this situation remains to be seen. I'd like to believe it's a friend, for why else would they have let me sleep unguarded in an unlocked room, on a comfy bed no less? I open the door of the room and enter the dark corridor.

I see a lot of closed doors down the hallway, and a staircase going downwards. I decide to take the stairwell down. I creep down the steps so stealthily, it would make a mouse ashamed of being so loud. I look to my right when I reach the bottom and see what seems to be the front entrance to this house. Well at least I know where to go if things go south and I need to escape. I look to my left. I see an open concept area of a living room and a kitchen. I subconsciously hold my breath and become as still as a statue as my eyes fall upon a figure slumped against the kitchen table, head resting in arms. Who is this?

My captor, or my saviour?

I take a few steps forwards. I can tell the person is a man, as he has broad shoulders and is wearing a black suit. I squint my eyes some more and try to focus on the shadowy area that is his face. The only thing I can discern for sure is the man has short, somewhat slicked back spiky hair. There's only one person I know with hair like, who could conceivably wear a suit even while sleeping.

All the sadness and uncertainty drains out of my body, and it feels as though a heavy weight has been lifted off my chest. I flick the lights on, and rush over to him, just barely managing to fight off the urge to throw my arms around him in an embrace. Ignoring the fact that he could be in a deep sleep, I violently shake his shoulder.

"Karasuma-sensei!"

I hear his breath hitch, indicating that he's waking up. A panic shoots through me as I realize that waking Karasuma up like that will probably mean getting thrown to ground out of reflex, so I jump away from the table as a preventative measure.

.

.

.

 **POV Karasuma**

My eyes flutter open in alarm as I feel my shoulder being shaken. Just as quickly though, they close again. It feels like thousand pound weights are attached to them and it takes all my cognitive ability to will them open again. Ugggh. This is why i don't drink alcohol. I lift my head up groggily, and I'm immediately blinded by a light. A skull-splitting headache pounds in my brain. It feels like my head is going to explode. I look around through half closed eyes until my eyes fall upon the perpetrator who woke me up. Is that…

Oh. It's Nagisa. I can see his mouth moving but I can't hear him yet.

I focus all my concentration on trying to understand what he's saying.

"...Karasuma? Karasuma? When did I get here? Where's Karma? Where's the rest of E class?"

My head starts pounding even more.

"Nagisa… slow down…"

He gives me a worried look. "Karasuma? What happened to you? What happened to E class?"

I inwardly groan. I was really hoping to avoid having to explain what happened, and I'm hardly in the right frame of mind to be giving a detailed speech: but he deserves an explanation right now. I decide to summarize it as best I can, trying to recall every detail.

" Karma came over here… around 11:30. He carried you all the way from the school. Don't worry, last I heard the rest of E class had been safely escorted off the mountainside.

Nagisa shuts his eyes and lets out a long sigh of relief.

"Oh thank goodness…" But his relief leaves as quickly as it came, replaced with anguish and grief.

"Karasuma… Kayano…" I see tears well up in his eyes and he looks down at the ground. His fists are clenched and his body is visibly shaking. My heart drops. In a weak voice, he continues,

"I couldn't save her… she… she's-"

"Nagisa."

I stand up and walk over to Nagisa, putting my hands on his shoulders. He continues to shake, so I apply a little pressure on his shoulders to help him stop.

"Nagisa, look at me."

He stops trembling. He slowly raises his head, and he brings a hand up to wipe his eyes. I narrow my eyes at him to convey my confidence in what I'm about to say.

"Nagisa, it wasn't your fault. I heard everything from karma, about the dark tentacle monster that attacked you. There's nothing you could've done against something like that. I'm sure you tried everything you could. Kayano wouldn't want you to feel responsible for her death."

Throughout my speech, I felt Nagisa become increasingly more tense. His head is hung low once again. He's like a dam trying to contain way too much water than its structural integrity will allow.

"Nagisa."

He says nothing. Doesn't even try to raise his hand. His only response is a quiet sniffle.

"Let it out, Nagisa. Let it out now, or it'll eat away at you"

The dam breaks. He bursts into tears and throws his arms around me, bawling into my chest.

I'm not sure what to do in this situation. I'm awkwardly standing in the middle of my kitchen, a 16 year old boy clinging to me with his heart on his sleeve. I guess There's only one thing to do. I hesitantly put my arms around him and reciprocate his embrace. In response to this, Nagisa just buries himself deeper into my chest. Well now what am I supposed to do.

My eyes widen. I suddenly remember another detail Karma told me earlier.

About Nagisa's mother.

I know this really isn't what he needs right now, but I need to tell him. He needs to know.

"Nagisa… about your mother…" I trail off hesitantly.

Suddenly he stops shaking, and back away from me, a slight smile on his face. He wipes away his tears.

'My mother! She must be worried SICK about me! I need to make sure she's okay!"

He starts heading towards the front door.

"Nagisa, wait! Where are you-"

"Sorry Karasuma sensei, I need to go see my mom! Thanks for letting me spend the night and helping me through my little breakdown there… hehe" he says with a nervous laugh.

"Well, I'll see you around. I'll be in contact with you at some point tomorrow… er, rather, later today. Sayonara!"

Before I can say anything, he's already out the door.

I start to run towards the door, until I start to feel woozy and my headache returns. I'm forced to sit down on the bench, as I come to the brink of passing out again.

Shit. I can't sit here. I can't let him go to his house. His mother's body will still be there! I try to get up again but my the corners of my vision darken again, and I fumble into the wall for support.

Suddenly my phone dings. An e-mail? At this time?

I fumble in my pocket and pull out my phone and turn it on.

I read over the email.

My blood turns cold. The phone clatters to the floor.

From: Director Shinji

Subject: NEW MISSION. URGENT.

Karasuma, we need you at the office ASAP. I've just received word that takaoka escaped from his maximum security mental institute last night, at around 18:30. Apparently, the idiots working there only realized it around 20:00. Takaoka had an inside man working in the institute who tampered with the security feed in his room so nobody noticed he was missing until it was time for his last bathroom break and someone checked on him. One hour later, a case of the tentacle serum had been stolen from our research facility, just 50 km away from the institution. We're having a meeting in 30 minutes. BE THERE.

 **A/N: Now that I'm caught up on schoolwork again, I should be back on schedule with my updates! Thanks for your understanding!**

 **Next chapter: POV… undetermined :p.**


	9. Chapter 9

**A Darker Path**

TheReaperCometh

 **A/N: Hey, I know the last couple chapters might have been a little… uneventful, in terms of battling for some of you, so here's one with a bit more action :p. Enjoy**

* * *

 **Chapter 8:**

" **Motley Crew"**

 **POV Karma**

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I couldn't sleep. So here I am, running around the streets in an attempt to exhaust myself to a point that sleep is inevitable.

You would think I'd be sick of running tonight. But I'm not. Running is the only thing I can do right now.

What little sleep I managed to get was restless. I was tossing and turning, startling awake every time I accidentally bumped into Nagisa. I would then just watch Nagisa's peaceful face under the light of the moon in envious satisfaction, taking note of the minute fluttering of his eyelids during REM. Watching him sleep brought my mind at ease, lulling me to sleep.

But it wouldn't take long until the nightmares drove my eyelids open again.

Images of Nagisa's mother.

Of Kayano.

And every time I awoke to see Nagisa's quiet form, untroubled and unburdened, I became more and more frustrated with the blue haired boy next to me. How can he still be sleeping so soundly? How can he be so unperturbed, while I'm left to my own devices to wallow in guilt and restlessness? I found myself sometimes childishly shaking and prodding him, a part of me wishing he would awake so I could impart some of my suffering upon him.

But he never woke, which only served to fuel my melancholy.

I feel torturously guilty about Kayano's death. Not so much because I couldn't save her: but because I hadn't even considered saving her. I didn't even given her a second glance or thought as I scooped Nagisa into my arms and started to run away. The truth is, now that I have time to process it, I feel like a horrible person. It wouldn't have mattered if I could've saved a hundred, no, a thousand Kayanos - I still would've saved Nagisa in a heartbeat over all of them.

So here I am. I've been running up and down Karasuma's street since 4 a.m, thinking I would become so tired that my brain would no longer be able to trouble itself with any thought other than sleep.

So I had crept downstairs and out the door, hoping to leave my mental burdens behind under the covers.

It's past 5am now. My legs have been moving on autopilot, and I don't feel even the slightest bit tired: perhaps because my mind is inundated with so many thoughts and emotions, it can't even register how exhausted I should be.

I turn around as I reach the end of Karasuma's street for the 54th time, and start heading back towards his house. The streets have been completely empty, seldom for one single car which drove by a half hour ago. Finally, my brain ceases its masochistic train of thought, and I feel a burning sensation in my legs at last. I may be able to get some sleep after all.

Suddenly, Karasuma's front door opens, which sends a spark of alertness down my spine and nullifies the bit of exhaustion that was starting to manifest.

It's fine, I didn't want to sleep anyway, I think to myself sarcastically.

My eyes widen even more as I see Nagisa race out the door.

What is he doing at this hour?

I stop running and watch him with curiosity. He looks around, left and right, I assume to try and figure out where he is. Then he starts jogging down the driveway with a… I squint through the darkness. A smile on his face?

The fuck?

Anger swells inside of me. How can he be smiling at a time like this? Did he forget everything that transpired last night? Did he wipe it from his memory? What could he possibly find joy in at a time like this?

He reaches the end of the driveway, turns left, and starts jogging.

I cock my head to the side. Where is he going? I start thinking about places in that direction he could be going to at a time like this on foot.

And then it hits me, and my anger quickly turns to panic.

Oh no.

His house is that way.

Shit. He's going to his house isn't he?! He doesn't know his mother's fate, so he probably wants to see her.

I force my legs to start moving again. I have to intercept him and stop him before he gets to his house. If he sees his mother…

I don't even want to consider the toll that would take on his mind. It might very well break him.

But now I'm exhausted. Now that I had stopped moving for a few moments, my body protests against the idea of running again. But I have no choice. I have to get to him in time. I force my legs to cooperate, and reconjure the tormenting thoughts in my mind so that I'm no longer focused on how tired I am.

I sure have found myself to be in quite the vicious cycle. After about 5 minutes of jogging I still haven't caught up with him.

"Nagisa!" I call out through laboured breaths, the only response being the quiet humming of cars in neighbouring streets.

Finally, just as my lungs are about to give out, I round a corner and see Nagisa walking along the sidewalk about 20 metres ahead. Lucky for me, he's slowed to a walk.

"Nagisa… wait up, you bastard…" I wheeze. He seems to hear me this time and he whirls around on his heels with a bright look on his face.

"Karma-kun! You're okay! I was wondering where you went!"

My spirits rise as I hear his voice - so full of relief and hope - call out my name. In a way, it lifts a burden off my mind as well: at least I know he doesn't blame me for Kayano's death. I catch up to him, and we begin walking side by side down the street in silence. We're about a 5 minute walk away from Nagisa's house now, and I have no idea how I'll be able to convince him that he can't go inside. There's a stifling air between us, and we both know that the only thing we could possibly talk about right now is our despair. Of course, neither of us want to talk about that yet, so we've come to a silent mutual understanding that it would be best to not say anything at all.

Or at least I thought we had.

"Um, Karma…" Nagisa whispers, coming to a stop. "About earlier…" His bottom lip starts to quiver a bit, and he bites down on it to stop its trembling.

Uh oh. Is he angry at me? Will he berate me for not saving Kayano? Does he think I'm a heartless bastard after all?

"T-thanks… f-for saving me…"

My eyes widen in surprise. If he just wanted to thank me, why does he seem so uncomfortable and anxious? guilty, even. He can't look me in the eyes.

He probably feels like a horrible person for saying that, because it implies he's glad I saved him instead of Kayano.

"Dumbass, don't feel so guilty about being saved over Kayano. And you're welcome". I turn around and start walking away, back towards Karasuma's, hoping to lure him back, I catch a glimpse of Nagisa's dumbfounded face as I turn.

"Eh? How did you know-"

I smile and wave him off.

"Please, you're easier to read than an open book when your guard is down" I snort, still walking away.

"Wait Karma!" He cries out after me.

Why couldn't you just follow me back and make things easy for once?

"I-I'm going to see my mother right now, I can't wait any longer... could you, maybe come with me?" He asks quietly, shifting awkwardly from foot to foot.

I shoot him a glare, which he must misinterpret as a sign of unwillingness to see his mother, because his eyes widen in panic: when really, I'm just desperately trying to think of a way to convince him to come back to Karasuma's.

"P-please! It's just... I'd feel a lot more comfortable with you there when I see her..." he mumbles, a faint blush gracing his pale complexion.

Unable to think of anything persuasive, I sigh in resignation.

"Fine, let's go" I grumble.

He smiles meekly and turns around. I jog up to his side, and then we continue to walk side by side in silence as Nagisa undoubtedly mulls over what to say to his mother.

I've got a bad feeling about this.

 **POV Nagisa**

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there are so many things I want to ask Karma right now. 'What did you dream about tonight? does your heart feel like it's on the verge of exploding every other second? Are you plagued with an unrelenting guilt that makes you want to rip your hair out and scream until your vocal cords break?

I would ask him now, but from the look on his face he's in deep thought right now, and I'd hate to interrupt him. I'll ask him later. I'm just glad he agreed to come with me, now that I'm almost home, a pit has begun growing in my stomach and I don't think I would've been able to face my mother alone.

We round the corner and see the sign marking my street. Looking down the slightly curved road I can see my house, partly illuminated by a nearby streetlight. I don't see any sign of light coming from my dark house, however, which is peculiar because I think I can see my mother's vehicle in the driveway. For some reason, I notice, Karma's face is looking more and more distraught as we make our way down the road.

"Karma, what is the matter with you, you look as though-"

Suddenly, he stops and places a hand on my shoulder. A chill runs through my body, originating from the point of contact between us.

"Nagisa, we can't go in your house right now".

"Huh?" I ask in bewilderment. "Look, I know my mom can be a little... overbearing, but in the end she's still-"

"No that's not it" Karma shakes his head, much to my confusion.

"Then... why not?" I ask.

Because… because…" he stammers. I become impatient and shrug his hand off. I turn to walk away, but he quickly seizes my arm.

"What the hell, Karma! Let me go."

"Nagisa, you can't".

I'm filled with rage. Who the hell does he think he his, saying I can't go home to my mom? She's probably worried sick and I need to let her know I'm okay. He knew this walk's destination was my house the entire time, why wait until now to tell me I can't? And Why?

"Stop messing around, I need to see my mother right now and tell her-"

"No. You don't. You really don't need to."

He says it with such certainty, looking directly into my eyes. All my anger drains away, replaced with a foreboding curiosity. His scarlet eyes have a fiery glint in them, that tells me he won't let me go to my house right now no matter what I say or do.

"Why? Karma, why can't I go back to my own damn house?"

He looks away. There's something he's not telling me. I'm dying to know.

"Just trust me. Please, Nagisa. Let's just go back to Karasuma's for now. We have a lot to discuss. I'll explain everything later. Please" He implores.

I can see a distinct shimmer of desperation in his eyes. The word 'please' is not apart of Karma's common vernacular. Using it twice in one sentence, now that's just unheard of. The hair on the back of my neck raises and I feel a strange obligation to listen to him. I shoot a glance over my shoulder at my house, its darkness now seems more ominous and uninviting than it did 30 seconds ago.

"Um… okay, Karma, if you say so".

I see a wave of relief wash over his entire visage and his grip on my shoulder lessens. He owes me a really good explanation for this later.

"Thank you, Nagisa-chan" Before I can complain about his teasing, he reaches over and undoes the band holding my hair up, causing it to cascade over my shoulders. He starts jogging away with a broad smirk on his face. I blush in embarrassment.

"H-hey! Not funny, Karma-kun" I start chasing after him, fumbling clumsily with my hair. Apparently my agreement to go back was enough to raise his mood back to his typical childish demeanor in an instant. Well, he said he'd explain everything later. Besides, maybe it wouldn't be best to barge into my mom's room at 5 in the morning... I can see her at a more reasonable time tomorrow morning.

It's not like she's going anywhere anyway.

Karma's so tired that I catch up to him quickly.

We look at each other, side by side, running down the sidewalk.

We notice the bags under each other's eyes at the same time, and we both burst out laughing. I wonder how much sleep he got tonight?

That was the first time either of us had laughed in quite a while. We begin to cross an intersection, just one street away from Karasuma's.

Suddenly, I'm blinded by a powerful white light.

Before I can even turn my head to the source, Karma tackles me to the ground and we land on the sidewalk harshly.

I can register the sound of screeching car tires.

If not for Karma's quick reaction, we'd have both been roadkill right now.

Karma grunts from on top of me.

"You okay, Nagisa?'

"Y-yeah"

My elbows, on the other hand, are not okay. They feel like they're on fire, undoubtedly scraped.

Karma pushes off of me, and angrily starts walking over to the car now parked in the middle of the intersection.

I get up and slowly and examine my elbows. The movement of the joints brings a dull pain through the raw lacerations. The tender wounds aren't bleeding too much, but I can see bits of gravel lodged fairly deep in my flesh. I lower my arms to my side and look up at the car which almost killed us. Karma's almost reached the driver side's window. I almost feel bad for whoever is in that vehicle. If you think Karma is harsh and antagonistic normally, then you can't even begin to imagine what he's like when he's in a bad mood, overtired, AND you almost killed him. I watch anxiously. My muscles tense as I get ready for the inevitable; I'm gonna have to restrain him from killing whoever is in that vehicle.

But then I take a closer look at the vehicle itself.

It's eerily similar to Karasuma's, which I remember him saying was a specific model that only a field agent or military officer like him could acquire. They aren't sold on the public market.

I watch the vehicle warily.

Karma raises his hand and pounds on the driver's window with an annoyed look on his face.

The windows are tinted, and thus impossible to see through from the outside.

"Hey, asshole, open up! You almost killed us! Either roll down your window or I'll rip this goddamn door off its hinges!"

Suddenly I sense an unmistakeable bloodlust swell from within the vehicle.

"Karma, wait-"

Too late.

They car door swings open, knocking Karma back. The driver steps out of the vehicle, without saying a word and looks down at Karma. He's a big guy, a veritable giant in fact. The way his gut jiggled as he climbed out of the vehicle, however, tells me right away that most of his mass is fat, not muscle. He's wearing a black suit and dark shades. His head is bald, brightly reflecting the light from the street lights around us.

"What the fuck is your problem, do you have a death wish, asshole?" Karma snarls from the ground. He gets up quickly and rolls up his sleeves.

"Nothing to say, huh? So not only are you obese and ugly, you're also a mute?"

Something is off about this guy. I slow my breathing and close my eyes and focus on him. His heart rate is extremely slow. He's too calm, all his muscles are very loose. Suddenly I sense a quick spike in his heart rate before it returns to normal, and his left arm becomes much stiffer than the rest of body: much like an old western cowboy's drawing arm right before he draws his gun.

"Karma, look out!"

He looks at me puzzlingly, and as soon as his eyes meet mine, the man reaches behind him and draws a sharp dagger.

My heart stops beating for a second.

As if in slow motion, I see a flash of metal as a blade is thrusted at karma's throat.

Karma's gaze shifts back to the man and his eyes widen in surprise, as he twists his body to the left and narrowly dodges the blade. He grabs the man's extended arm, and with a swift and merciless motion, snaps it back. An audible crack echoes through the streets, and the previously mute attacker wails in agony and drops his knife. Before it even hits the ground, Karma snatches it out of midair and drives it back into the man's shoulder. He falls to his knees, clutching the shoulder of his now fractured, and stabbed arm. Karma clutches the attacker's face, pressing both his thumbs into the man's eyes, eliciting another howl of pain. I wince in sympathy, and make my way over to Karma. At this point Karma's going to kill him!

"Who sent you, you fat fuck! Do you know anything about the tentacle creature?!"

I put my hand on Karma's shoulder.

"Karma, that's enough-"

Surprisingly, he shrugs my hand off with a quick roll of his shoulder, not even looking back or removing his vice grip from the man's eyes. Another second passes, and Karma, already impatient from not getting an immediate answer, presses his thumbs with even more force into the guy's eyeballs. A sickening squish is heard, followed by the trickle of blood from the man's eye sockets. That's… disgusting. Karma lets go of his victim, and watches him keel over on the road, clutching at his eyes with his hand.

"Well, who sent you!? WHO?!"

Karma rips the knife from the man's shoulder, and raises it high in the air.

My heart starts pounding, and the furious glint in his eyes tell me he's actually going to execute the crippled man before us.

The downward motion of his arm begins, metal edge plunging towards the man's neck.

"Karma, No!"

I reach for his wrist to stop him, but I know I won't catch it in time. My eyes fall to the helpless fellow before us, and I brace myself for the flash of blood that will soon mark his death.

But then a gunshot is heard, and the knife flies from Karma's hand, clattering to the pavement a few metres away.

"Whoa, settle down there, ya little firecracker" says a voice in a foreign accent from the backseat of the car.

3 doors open up at the same time, and 3 equally eccentric men step out into the light from the car. The first one I notice is really short. Can't be more than 5 feet tall. He's wearing a bright yellow tuxedo with an equally appalling bowler hat. Tufts of greasy hair poke out from under the brim of his hat. He has an unusually bulbous nose. A scruffy unkempt beard that's longer in some spots than others, as if he had gotten lazy in the middle of his last shave, covers the bottom half of his face. Under different circumstances, I would've found his appearance humorous.

"Damn, you really messed up our chauffeur nice and good!" The yellow man says with a laugh, interrupted with intermittent snorts. How obnoxious can a laugh be?

The second newcomer resembles a gorilla. He regards us with eyes that are a bit too far apart, connected by a unibrow bridge, and a goofy gold toothed grin. The first thing I notice is the large brass knuckle covering his left fist.

"Play time?" The large ape-man asks, looking at us with hungry eyes as he cracks his neck with a quick jerk of his head. I gulp, but I notice Karma staring defiantly right back at him.

"Who the fuck are you freaks?" Karma hisses.

I focus my attention on the third man.

The third one, seemingly the leader and the one responsible for shooting the knife out of Karma's hand laughs. He's got a pristine silver-grey suit on, matching the shade of his hair and mustache. He has piercing blue eyes like mine, and a bushy grey mustache monopolizing the entire centre of his face. He looks quite old, but his eyes reflect a youthful shimmer. He has a fancy looking cane in his left hand with an engraved motif of an ivory snake travelling down its entire length, mouth agape and fangs bared at the end, as if with the intention of devouring the ground beneath it. Most interestingly enough, it has glistening purple amethysts for eyes. But he doesn't seem to use it for support. He maintains a rigid and upright posture, shoulders and back straight - certainly not the way an enfeebled old man carries himself. He didn't use it to help him out of the car either, which leads me to believe he either carries it around as a purely fashionable feature, or it has a more sinister purpose, as promised by the ivory snake.

"Yeah Curtis, it's time to have some fun. Just remember, the boss wants these boys ALIVE, ya hear? And I don't want to take any chances, so no beating them within an inch of their life either. If they up and die on us, we don't get paid!"

"You got it, boss" says the short greasy one, who draws a pair of tonfas and sneers at us. I've never seen a hitman fight with stick weapons before.

The big one looks down glumly. Then his face lights up as he if he just had the most incredible revelation.

"Hey boss, is beatin' 'em within TWO inches of their lives okay?"

The mustachioed man smiles, deep wrinkles forming around the corner of his eyes as he does.

"Ho ho, yes Curtis, two inches will be just dandy. But no closer than that!"

The gorilla smiles and cracks his knuckles

"Gotcha!"

They take a step towards us.

"You like my cane?" The old man says with a gracious tone as he notices my eyes scanning its entirety.

I decide to play along and nod. Maybe if I get him talking about it, it'll give me enough time to think of a plan for this predicament.

"I'm glad ya like it! I made it myself!" He exclaims while running his hand along the engraved snake, admiring his own craftsmanship: "I crafted it many years ago, and it's been my weapon of choice ever since!"

He concludes his statement with the press of a button along the handle, and a ridiculously sharp blade juts out of snake's mouth. I notice a strange purple fluid dripping from the snake's new fang and it doesn't take a genius to deduce what it is. As if reading my mind, he continues:

"Yep, that right there is some nifty stuff. A single drop in the bloodstream can kill a grown man in just 10 seconds! But don't worry, I've diluted it just for tonight - just enough to knock ya out for a few hours and maybe make your tummy a bit upset!"

The small yellow man tosses the old man a dirty look.

"Boss…" He warns while drawing two baton-like weapons from his side - tonfas. Odd choice of weaponry for a hitman.

"Ho ho! Sorry about that Harold! I suppose I let my mind wander again. Anything you youngsters wanna say before we wallop ya?" The old man says in a playful tone. Karma smirks back.

"Hoh? I don't know who your boss is, but if he thinks a motley crew of degenerates like you can fight us then he's sadly mistaken. So why don't you just tell us who put you up to this, and you can be on your way. I don't want to have to force you into retirement gramps"

The big one frowns.

"I don't like that one boss. Can I hurt him extra good?"

"I don't much care for him either, Curtis. Him, you can beat within an inch of his life, 'kay?"

The old man turns back to face us.

"Sorry boys, it ain't nothin' personal. It's just business!"

I watch a drop of the ghastly fluid drip from his cane. My head starts to spin just thinking about it coursing through my body.

Karma tosses me a cocky glance, somehow undeterred by the unfavorable odds we face.

"Oi, Nagisa. Calm down. We just gotta work together on this one."

I nod grimly and take a deep breath, bringing my heart rate down to normal.

The larger one, Curtis, is unsurprisingly the first to attack. He makes a crude swing at my head and I easily avoid it by ducking. My heart flutters as I hear it collide with something. There's no way Karma let that hit him!

I look back and see that it did. Only, Karma allowed it toconnect intentionally. I sigh. I guess Karma felt the need to block it to display his own physical strength. Damn him. Albeit, he used both arms and he came dangerously close to hitting himself in the head from the knockback. Luckily, the haymaker had come from his naked fist, with no brass knuckle. No doubt, this Curtis is a monster of brute strength.

The grey haired man smiles and chuckles heartily: "Ho ho! You took that hit impressively! Shucks, here I thought you were just a couple of whippersnappers! Curtis, looks like you've got a playmate that won't break after one hit! This might be fun after all!"

Curtis laughs hysterically.

"Hooray! New friend!" He shouts happily, then begins a brutal barrage of fists directed at Karma, completely ignoring me. Not that I mind. I watch helplessly as Karma drifts further and further away from my position, forced to dodge and weave around the behemoth's swings.

I start to turn to help him but the old man lunges at me in an instant with a surprising swiftness that catches me off guard. The snake's glistening eye is inches away from my face, and I have no doubt that if he had wanted to, the old man could've pierced me right there.

"Tsk. Now now, your fight is with us! Don't worry, Curtis treats his friends nicely, so there's no need to interrupt them!" He draws his cane back and I jump back, creating some breathing room between me and the two men. Sorry Karma, I've got my hands full.

With a sudden outcry, the yellow man, Harold, tosses his bowler hat to the side and lunges. I try to block the first few strikes, but the impact that the hard wooden weapons have on my arms is too hard, so I quickly resort to my typical defense method - dodging. But it's proving to be really difficult. I can't adjust to this guy's rhythm because I'm completely unfamiliar with the weapon he's using. He's definitely an expert of the tools, and I've already been jabbed and struck a couple times. I duck under his next swing, and twist my body to build up momentum and deliver a kick to his ribs. He deflects my leg with one of his sticks and delivers a quick strike to my kneecap with the other before I can retract it. I didn't hear a crack so I don't think it's broken. I nimbly backflip away from him.

Harold closes the distance in an instant, swinging his tonfa at my face. I lean back to dodge it, but at the last second, he extends the length of the tonfa with a flick of his wrist. I barely manage to react in time, transforming my lean into a duck and weave. My knee throbs in protest as I leaned against it to dodge, causing me to wince. This is bad.

I shoot a sideways glance to the old man, who's watching our battle intently with keen eyes. I can hear shouting and the rustle of footsteps on pavement behind me. Seems Karma's struggling a bit himself. I can't risk looking back though. We're very lucky that they aren't taking things seriously so far. If all three of them had attacked in earnest, Karma and I would've lost by now.

Harold repositions his grip on the tonfas, now holding them by the part he had just been using to strike me with - the previously used handles now jut horizontally out from the vertical shaft, like the head of hammers. I frown. Just as I was starting to get a feel for things, he switches his style. He begins swinging his 'hammers' in a quick and methodical motion, which lucky for me, allows me to at least find a rhythm.

"Hoh? You're pretty good at dodging, but is that all you're good at?" Harold quips in between swings. From his tone, however, I can tell he's frustrated his attacks aren't landing.

"Maybe if you had a bit longer reach, you'd have more luck" I retort back. I see his eyebrow arch in annoyance, and he begins swinging more wildly. Short people will always react strongly to short jokes.

I weave through and around his strikes very easily. He goes for a heavy upward swing at my chin, which will surely break my jaw if it connects. It was a telegraphed swing though, and I easily jump to the side to avoid it.

Right into his trap.

As I dodge to the right, I see his other arm extend out towards me. He anticipated this..!

With no time for me to react, he successfully hooks his tonfa handle into my shirt collar, and wrenches me to the side, putting me off balance. At the same time, he swings his other tonfa from overhead down towards my face.

I grab his wrist holding the tonfa hooked into my collar and dig my thumb into a pressure point I remember Karasuma teaching us about. Surprised by this, Harold jerks his hand back instinctively and releases the tonfa. Because of his surprise, his overhead swing also became sloppy and weak: now free from his grip, I raise both hands and deflect the attack, launching his arm to the side from the knockback.

Now that he's wide open, I go in for the kill.

I take a step forward and raise my hands right in front of his face. He looks surprised and moves to step back but it's too late.

I clap my hands together, and I can almost see the synapses in his brain shut down. He stops moving. His arms go slack and he drops his second tonfa. I then remember a great technique Karasuma sensei showed us briefly in one of our self defense lessons.

I reach my arm over Harold's shoulder and loop it back through under his armpit, then lock it against my other wrist. This forces him to bend over, with his arm bent in an awkward L shape. Just then, Harold snaps back to reality and I can feel him start to struggle against my hold. For a little guy, he's pretty strong. But it's no use now that he doesn't have his tonfas and I've seized his arm in a Kimura armlock. Without a moment's hesitation, I twist my body, turning into Harold. As I do, I violently jerk his arm up and behind his back until I hear a loud pop and an audible tear.

Harold wails in agony. His shoulder is now severely dislocated, with nearly every ligament brutally torn. But I don't stop there. I keep lifting to further exacerbate the damage incurred on his shoulder, until he teeters so far forward and off balance, I sweep his legs out with an effortless kick and he slams into the ground, gasping and clutching his destroyed shoulder.

I waste no time grabbing a tonfa that had rolled just a few feet away, before jumping on the man again. Instinct takes over and all sanity escapes me, as I slam the end of the tonfa into his face twice, breaking his nose with the first and knocking him out with the second. I'm about to slam it down one final time when I suddenly feel a sharp prick against my neck.

I look down and see a snake's purple eye stare back at me.

My visions starts to blur and I start to feel light headed. I drop the tonfa and roll off of Harold's unconscious body, toppling onto my back on the pavement. I feel my heart rate start to slow at an alarming rate.

I shoot a glance Karma's way, and see him pinned against the ground being choked by the giant. Both their faces are bruised and pulverized, But Karma's face is a swollen mess.

From the poison's effect, my heart rate begins to slow. It spikes briefly for a moment, however, as I realize there's no way Karma's getting out of that hold. His face is turning bright red. I weakly outstretch my hand towards him in a futile effort.

"Karma..kun…"

My breathing slows more and it becomes even more difficult to keep my eyes open. It feels like there's molasses coursing through my veins.

I hear the old man's voice as he begins to speak to me in a gleeful tone.

"Bravo, young man! Jolly good show! Really! I didn't bother intervening earlier because I thought Harold had you for sure: but you sure showed him! You have my respect! And then that strange thing you did with your hands! I was so mesmerized by it that by the time I snapped back to reality you had utterly defeated him!"

He laughs, and my vision blurs even more.

"Hmm, it seems that by diluting the poison also means it takes much longer to knock you out. It's been around 30 seconds!"

He continues rambling, but I can barely focus on his words. My eyes are still glued to Karma, hoping to see his victorious escape before I go to sleep.

"I feel awful having to end it like this, Nagisa… that is your name right? Or is your hotheaded friend Nagisa? Does that mean you're the one named… uh… what was it? Carl? Caramel? Harold help me out here, my memory is failing me" He gazes expectantly to his comrade.

No response from Harold.

The old man laughs: "Oh, no matter. Whoever you are, I wish you good luck! Not that it'll help, as our employer is pretty hellbent on killing you... but should you somehow survive after we deliver you, perhaps fate will be kind enough to have us cross paths again!".

I feel two arms grab me as he starts to drag me to their car.

"I had a jolly good time tonight. Sleep well"

Just as my eyes start to close, still glued on Karma who's resisting with less and less effort, I see a flash of movement, and suddenly Curtis is sent flying through the air off of Karma, who begins gagging and desperately taking in lungfuls of air. The newcomer helps Karma to his feet and then steps into the light.

I smile weakly.

"Karasuma...sensei…"

I can no longer keep my eyes open. With a final slow and shaky exhale, I slip into darkness.

 **Next Chapter: Karasuma's wrath! The conclusion of this late night bout. And Nagisa learns the truth...**


	10. Chapter 10

**A Darker Path**

TheReaperCometh

* * *

 **Chapter 9**

 **"Remains to be seen"**

 **POV Karasuma**

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Right after Nagisa raced out the door, I ungraciously passed out against the wall after reading the email from director Shinji. Luckily, I woke up just a few minutes later, albeit with a splitting headache. I look at my phone: 5:32 a.m.

Unfortunately, there's no way I'll be able intercept Nagisa before he reaches his house, in my current state. He's probably walking through the front door right this moment, about to witness the result of the most atrocious and irredeemable side humanity has to offer.

Takaoka, that bastard...it can't be sheer coincidence that he happened to break out of his imprisonment last night, mere hours before everything went to shit.

Nagisa... as if his situation wasn't shitty enough already.

I clench my fists and grit my teeth. In desperate need of an outlet for my frustration, I lash out at the wall with my fist, punching a hole through it.

I've failed so many people, so many times recently.

I feel the vicious voice from earlier begin to surface from deep within my subconscious again, echoing and overlapping with itself in a cacophony of white noise.

This is not helping me get over my headache.

I stagger upstairs and hop in a cold shower - a jolt to my nervous system which my body loathes, but my mind graciously appreciates. The admonishing voices recede back in my mind, leaving only silence. Finally.

I leave the shower feeling renewed and refreshed, and dress into my suit and tie. I smack my lips and grimace at how dry and stale my breath is: the putrid stench of a late night drinker. Just another one of many reasons I've always avoided alcohol. I rinse my mouth quickly with mouthwash.

I look at my watch. 5:42.

Meeting starts in 18 minutes. Despite nobody being in the house, I surreptitiously walk down the stairs: perhaps as a subconscious effort to suppress the throbbing in my temples.

I slip on my shoes and head out to my car. I pull out of the garage, and just as I reach the end of my driveway, my foot, as though with a mind of its own, slams into the brakes. I look both ways.

The left leads to Nagisa's house. The right, leads to work.

Bakama Shinji's message was urgent; and anything regarding Takaoka is the apogee of my concerns right now.

But Nagisa… I need to be there for him. He needs support. And I don't know how long this conference will be: I want to visit my students at the hospital as early as they'll accept visitors.

I'm a very decisive person. But in this moment, I can't help but dither.

I look at the clock. 5:45. Dammit, come on Karasuma. At this rate, I won't have time to do either.

I startle as an abnormally large crow lands on my hood. When it notices me watching it, it tilts its head to the side and opens its beak wide to emit a shrill squawk. It then turns and flies away, leaving behind a single dark feather. Compelled by some strange impulse, I reach out my window to pick it up, only to have a sudden wind carry it tantalizingly out of reach. I follow its ethereal form gently glide through the air down my street, in the direction of Nagisa's house.

I'm not a particularly superstitious person, but I'd be a fool to ignore a sign like that.

I haven't been there for my students when they've needed me most. I won't continue to fail them.

I take out my phone and send a reply to Director Shinji.

'Won't be at the meeting in time. Something urgent came up. Start without me. Will be there as soon as I can'

Send.

I take my foot off the brake and drive off in the direction of Nagisa's house. After a couple minutes, I notice a crow roosting on top of a streetlight. Based on its size, I think it's the same one that landed on my hood.

A pit forms in my stomach. The sinister voice returns.

 **You won't get there in time… you will continue to fail your students, until they either hate you, or die.**

I shake my head. I'll be there. No matter what happens, I'll help Nagisa through this. I'll help all my students through this.

 **We'll see. But do you really think they'll exculpate you, after you sent them down such a tragic path? You don't actually THINK things can return to the way they were, do you? There's already blood on your hands, and even if it washes away, there'll always be a stain.**

Before I can reply, the voice disappears again.

My eyes widen as I jerk the wheel, having almost missed the turn. Thankfully there were no other cars on the road. I let out a long sigh of relief. I pull into a divot in the road and park along the curb next to a mailbox. I take my hands off the wheel and rub my eyes forcefully.

In all my years since I got my license, I've never let myself become distracted while driving. I take my hands away from my eyes, gazing tiredly out the windshield.

Thats when my vision focuses on a captivating scene about a half mile down the empty road.

I can see a car parked in the middle of the intersection, with all its doors swung open. But there's also a group of people in the street. Was there an accident? No. There's no other car in the vicinity.

They're... fighting? Or at least, they were fighting, and it's just wrapping up now. I count six people, four of whom are on the ground. Only one, a man in an expensive grey suit, is left standing, dragging a limp figure towards the vehicle.

Two familiar colors flash out at me.

Two heads, one red and one blue.

One on the ground, and one being dragged away.

My heart skips a beat. It's them.

 **See, what did I tell you? You'll always be too late.**

The guilty voice states with a condescending tone.

Rage swells inside of me and I push the car door open so forcefully it flies off the hinges, clattering noisily against the pavement.

I leap out and race towards my imperiled students, pumping my legs as hard as possible.

I see Nagisa being heaved into the backseat of the vehicle. He's completely unmoving. I can't tell if he's knocked out or…

No. These men wouldn't go through the trouble of taking corpses with them. They must want them alive.

One of the bastards is strangling Karma, which inspires me to push my legs even harder.

My blood is boiling.

Do they not know what these boys have been through?!

Not only that, but the fact that four of them ganged up on two high schoolers infuriates me even more.

What cowardice.

Although seeing two of them crudely disposed of on the ground tells me this dastardly tactic was somewhat warranted, and a sense of pride swells within me for Nagisa and Karma's handiwork.

But it's not enough to quell my hatred.

I'll kill them.

The ugly mother fucker on top of Karma looks up at me in confusion as he hears my footsteps approaching.

After a devastating windup, I swing my leg at an incredible speed, like a battle-axe, hoping to cleave right through him. As my foot slams into his side, a crude cracking of bone erupts from the man's ribcage. I lift up at the end of the kick's arc, launching the large man through the air.

That felt good.

Karma begins to gasp for air immediately, an alarmed and oxygen-deprived expression on his face.

He rolls off his back on his hands and knees and takes in laboured breaths.

"Ouchie…" The large man cries out childishly, clutching his side. He slowly rises to his feet nonetheless.

He regards me with contempt, but I level a much more sinister stare his way, and his angry front quickly degrades to fear.

Still, to be able to get up immediately after I had just delivered what was possibly my strongest kick ever is nearly unfathomable. I notice slight swelling and bruising on his brutish face, and a slight limp on his left leg. My kick to his ribs could not have attenuated his leg. I glance down at Karma and grab him by the back of his shirt and heft him to his feet.

His face is equally brutalized. I'm impressed Karma was actually able to inflict noticeable damage on such a powerful opponent.

With laboured breaths, he looks up at me. I know he can't speak right now. But his eyes convey his gratitude.

"You fought well. Now rest. I'll take care of the rest" I tell him reassuringly. He nods slowly and slumps back to the ground.

"Nagisa…" he chokes out. This small expenditure of air sends him into a coughing fit, his body mercilessly reminding him of how he can't afford to waste oxygen.

My eyes travel past the gorilla man and land upon a sagacious looking old man, who returns my gaze with a hint of amusement in his eyes. My eyes fall upon his cane, with a glistening blade protruding from the end, dripping with a suspicious looking liquid. Glancing at Nagisa, I see he's definitely alive - but dazed, and slipping in and out of consciousness right now. I narrow my eyes at the old man.

"Is it lethal?"

He gives me an inquisitive look, as if not understanding my question at first. He then chuckles.

"Hoho, straight to the point I see? Mr. No-nonsense, skip-the-pleasantries Karasuma. Yes, I've heard much about you from our employer. No, it's not lethal. Lucky for you, our boss wants the boys alive."

Well that's some good news. I relax a little.

"Who the hell are you? Who hired you?" I hiss.

The old man laughs again.

"Well, I can answer one of those questions." He motions to the large man standing before me.

"That there is Curtis. He's a bit slow, if you know what I mean. Really closer to a primate than a man."

Then he motions to an incapacitated fellow on the ground wearing a horrendous yellow suit, stained with blood. He has a horribly beaten face, making the discernment of his facial features nearly impossible. His left arm is bent at a sickening angle.

"That's Harold. Your blue haired student really did a number on him, I tell you. He's a real dangerous one!" He adds with a laugh, reaching behind his back and patting an incoherent Nagisa on the head.

My eyes widen.

Nagisa did that?

I look between the demented form of Harold and Nagisa's small and unintimidating stature.

I feel satisfied, yet also a little disconcerted at the same time.

I think Nagisa is the single most equally impressive and terrifying person I've ever met. Who'd have thought that underneath the reserved, affable, and affectionate personality, lies the dichotomizing split personality of a ruthless and talented assassin.

"As for me," The old man continues: "who I am isn't important. I was hoping to avoid coming into contact with you tonight, as it seems your reputation precedes you."

He stands up and walks over until he's side by side with Curtis. The gargantuan is breathing heavily, still clutching his side.

"But it seems you leave us no choice. Unless of course, you would be willing to allow us to go, with the boys in tow. I think it would make things easier for all parties present, what say you?"

I blink.

Is he serious?

"That better be rhetorical, or your poor attempt at a joke"

The old man sighs.

"Yeah, I knew you wouldn't go for it. But can't blame me for trying, eh? I just wanna get home as quick as possible and rest these weary bones"

"Play time again, boss?" Curtis speaks up.

"Hrm? Er, yes Curtis, but make let's make it quick, alright? Karasuma doesn't wanna play and I'm getting tired."

I've never encountered such eccentric hitmen before.

"I'll give you one more chance. Give me the boys and leave now…" I spit out

The old man raises a bushy eyebrow: "orrrr… what?"

"Or, I kill you. Either way, myself and the two boys are leaving here alive. Whether you get to as well is entirely up to you" I say as coldly as possible.

Curtis frowns.

The old man laughs and spits my words back at me: "That better be rhetorical, or your poor attempt at a joke."

"Yeah, I knew you wouldn't go for it. But you can't blame me for trying" I mock.

The old man chuckles and levels his cane my way. His face turns serious.

"Enough! Let us break this loop of deja-vu and let our bodies decide our fates, hmm?"

Curtis, unable to contain his rambunctious vim, charges at me. The old man is just as surprised as I am to see the simpleton race towards me, giggling childishly.

I'm sick of him already, and my agitation which had just been starting to subside returns violently. Right now I want nothing more than to see every bone in this ape-man's body broken. He throws a heavily telegraphed haymaker my way, made even more deadly by a brass knuckle. I easily bob under it.

Weaving to the side, I bob back up and drive my heel into the titan's knee. He lets out a wail and comes crashing down to one knee.

I grab the back of his head, pulling his thick skull down whilst driving my knee upwards into his jaw. A splatter of warm blood explodes from his mouth and a few golden teeth fly out. He nearly bit the entire tip of his tongue clean off.

I bring my knee back down and am about to bring it back up, when suddenly I notice the old man's movements.

He closes the gap between us surprisingly quick for someone who just wants to 'rest his weary bones'. My eyes widen as I instinctively arc my body to the side and suck in my gut as far as possible to dodge his vicious thrust. It slices clean through the midriff of my suit. I felt no prick, so assume I'm okay. I start to lift my leg to throw a kick at the old man's head when suddenly I can't lift my leg anymore. I shoot a look behind me and see Curtis has seized my leg with both of his meaty hands. I thought he was knocked out.

I try to wrench my leg free with two violent jerks, but it's no use. He's got it in a secure vice grip, his abnormally large hands clasped around my entire shin. The old man pivots around, and with a graceful spin sends another thrust my way.

"Great work Curtis, hold 'im still!"

Time slows down for me as the snake lunges for my chest with hungry eyes.

Shit.

I close my eyes and wait for the inevitable feeling of the snake's fang sinking into my flesh.

But it never comes.

I hear the old man gasp in surprise, and I open my eyes to see Karma tackling him to the ground. The old man loses his grip on his cane and the tow of them tumble to the ground in an unseemly pile. The two start to grapple, which would normally result in a swift and easy win for Karma, but he's exhausted, so the two begin to struggle against each other evenly, rolling around on the ground fighting for the top position.

Suddenly, I feel my leg being lifted and I'm pushed forward. Off balance, I turn around and hit Curtis on the top of his head with my fist. My strike didn't seem to inflict that much damage, and my back quickly becomes mercilessly acquainted with the pavement. Curtis releases my leg and tries to get on top of me, but I swiftly retract my legs, so that my feet are pressed against Curtis' body. With a grunt, I exert my leg muscles as hard as I can, pushing Curtis' hefty mass off of me. He must weigh close to 300 pounds.

Following the momentum of my legs kicking up in the air, I spring myself up off my back and land on my feet, a move I vividly remember watching jackie-chan do many times in awe as a kid. Curtis starts to get back up, but I kick my leg upwards before he can get to his feet, slamming into his jaw once more.

I can almost feel the cracks form in his shattered jaw against the top of my foot, as his head snaps upwards and he falls backwards. His head rolls to the side, mouth agape with a steady trickle of blood pouring out of his nearly severed tongue. He's out cold.

I turn lethargically to Karma. He's back on his feet, but looks completely spent. The old man is pressing him, and Karma is barely keeping up. Seems the old man reclaimed his trick weapon.

With weary eyes, I take note for the first time how misleading the old man's appearance is. He has such a soft demeanour and friendly voice, like the narrator of a children's book - but like Nagisa, underneath the elaborate facade, is an equally sophisticated killer. His movements are practiced and fluid, betraying his age. He uses his momentum well, and a single misstep against his calculated strikes would result in immediate defeat. Every strike comes within centimetres of Karma, and I find it miraculous he hasn't been lacerated yet. Neither of them take note of my approach, completely enthralled in their duel. I watch the old man's movements a little longer to get a feel for his movements, like a child watching the movement of a jump rope in anticipation, getting a feeling for the rope's timing and waiting for the perfect moment to jump into the fray.

The moment arises and I jump in, seizing the old man's extended wrist as he thrusts what would've been an inescapable strike to Karma had I not intercepted. The old man's eyes widen in surprise but quickly shut in agony as I snap his wrist back with ease. He releases his cane, which begins to fall to the ground.

I catch it in midair, and with a swift motion, I swing the blade and cut the old man's leg.

The old man's knees wobble and he takes a few trembling steps backwards before collapsing to the ground, grasping at his chest as the poison begins to take effect.

"Y-you…" He manages to croak out in a raspy voice, before closing his eyes. His breathing slows, and a peculiar smile graces his lips as he succumbs to the toxins.

Karma falls to the ground, unconscious. Luckily I noticed him teetering, and was able to catch him in time and set him down gently before he concussed himself against the pavement. It seems he had been cut by the cane more than once, as I notice several graze marks. His adrenaline must have fueled his coherence just long enough to see his fight through. I smile down at him admirably.

I take a look around me.

What a shit show. I pull out my phone, which now has a narrow crack marring its screen. 2 notifications from Director Shinji. I have neither the energy nor the desire to address him right now. I'm sure he'll be cross with me later, but he'll surely understand. I dial 911 and call the police, giving a brief description of who I am and the incident that just occurred. The operator tells me the nearest police officers are 13 km away, currently apprehending a pair of cat burglars. I tell her to hurry up in the most patient voice I can muster, reiterating once more that many people here are critically injured. She apologizes, explaining that most of the police force is spread thin, what with all the kerfuffle last evening. The next closest unit she can dispatch is 21 km away, with an ETA of 7 minutes. She assures me that an ambulance should be arriving around the same time as well. I thank her for her time and hang up.

Taking a deep breath I walk over to our assailants' vehicle, which upon closer inspection I realize is almost identical to my own. I open the driver's door, stepping over a weeping man curled up on the pavement, clutching at his eyes in pain.

Time for some answers.

I begin foraging through the glove compartment in hopes of finding something that will give me a clue regarding the identity of whoever it is that wants Karma and Nagisa both alive.

I find a vial of a suspicious purple liquid, presumably and almost assuredly the poison coating the old man's cane. It has a small label on its lid, listing a number of chemical compounds. I'm no chemist, but I'm sure this'll help the doctors create an antivenom to counter its effects. I'll have one of my liaisons from work analyze the substance, and maybe tell me when/where it had been produced.

Most of the other stuff in the vehicle is typical stuff. A small handheld mirror, an empty bottle of tylenol, a kleenex box, and a pair of extravagant shades clipped to the driver's sun visor.

The last thing I check is the passenger sun visor. When I pull it down, a substantially filled envelope falls out on the seat. It reeks of under the table transaction. I tear it open and see a large sum of bills inside the envelope. I don't have time to count it all, but from thumbing through the wad of cash quickly it seems to be about $50,000. I scan the front of the envelope for a name or address, but it's completely blank. I reach for my phone again and climb out of the vehicle, moving to the front of the vehicle. I snap a picture of the license plate and send it to one of my colleagues, a real computer geek named Ottawa, asking him to run it through the system. Hopefully something will turn up and give us a lead.

I hear siren's approaching, a police car and an ambulance, as both vehicles come swerving around the corner, lights flashing. They come to a screeching stop, two officers and 3 paramedics climb out of their respective vehicles. Two paramedics quickly assess the situation and examine each of the wounded, then hastily rush back to the ambulance to get the stretcher and a defibrillator. They're yelling medical jargon to one another, and from this distance I can't hear everything they say, just bits and pieces like "internal bleeding" and "ruptured", as well as "prolapsed". I start to worry from all the serious terms, but I soon realized none of them were used in reference to Karma or Nagisa. Mainly the poor yellow man and Curtis. Meanwhile, the two officers and the third medic cautiously make their way towards me. I raise my hands in surrender to put them at ease.

I shoot a quick glance at Nagisa, sleeping soundly in the backseat. His breathing seems normal and he doesn't appear to be in any discomfort.

"I'm detective Shirabe, and this is lieutenant Toiwase. Are you the one who called 911, Mr… Karasuma, is it?" A slender man says in an accommodating tone.

"Yes, that's me."

The paramedic opens his mouth but I cut him off, thrusting the vial of poison towards him.

"Here, take this. It's the poison that was administered to the boy behind me, the red-haired boy over there, and the old man. I was assured that they weren't given lethal doses"

The medic examines the bottle with glaring curiosity before he nods his head determinately and heads back to confer with his co-workers. The detective clears his throat to regain my attention before continuing.

"Mr. Karasuma, where were you before you came upon the scene of the crime?"

I look at him with bewilderment, but before I can protest, he cuts me off.  
"Relax, sir, we're just going to ask you a few simple, standard procedure witness questions, and your cooperation would be greatly appreciated. You should know how this works" he chuckles wistfully.

"Now, tell me where you were before you came across this…" he says as he motions towards our surroundings.

"I was at my house, a 5 minute drive from here that way". I tell him my address, and lieutenant Toiwase scribbles it down on a notepad.

"Okay, and why were you up at this hour, driving towards the crime scene?"

"I was headed to work."

"And where do you work?"

With a flick of my jacket I flash my special field agents badge clipped on my hip, as well as my gun holster.

"Can I see that for a moment?"

I unclip it from my waist and hand it to him.

Shirabe looks at it scrutinizingly, determining its authenticity. Satisfied, he nudges his partner in the shoulder telling him to write my badge number and ID down.

Shirabe motions to my empty gun holster.

"Where's your firearm right now?"

"At my house."

"Why isn't it with you?"

"I wasn't going to need it. I was just heading for a conference meeting with some colleagues and Director Shinji. I knew I wouldn't need my gun there" I casually toss in the director's name for added effect. The mention of the director however barely resonates with the detective.

"Yet you still brought your gun holster?" He presses.

"I always keep it attached to my belt, so when I put my belt on this morning it was already attached. I didn't think to remove it."

Shirabe nods understandingly. Then he asks the one question I was hoping he wouldn't

"If memory serves me, National Defense HQ is the complete opposite direction from here if your house is the starting point. Why were you headed this way?"

I can't go into detail right now. It would take too long and he probably wouldn't believe me. So I tell a quick lie. As long as it's somewhat believable, my credibility as a high ranking field agent should keep me in the clear.

"I was going to get my morning coffee."

"Where?"

I blurt out the nearest one that comes to mind.

"Starbucks".

The detective raises an eyebrow.

"I never would have taken you for a Starbucks kind of person. What were you going to order?" He asks without missing a beat.

He's trying to trip me up. A classic trick investigators use to interrogate witnesses that could be potential suspects is to bombard them with seemingly trivial and meaningless questions and force people to elaborate on their answers more than they likely would've prepared for in advance if they were lying. Questions that have very simple, quick answers, like the ones he's asking right now, make people nervous, and are usually the ones that trip criminals up in their alibis.

"Dark roast, no sugar, two milks."

He continues asking me questions for a couple more minutes, things like what my relationship was with the victims, what I knew about the assailants, any contact information I have regarding family members of the two students.

Most of my answers consisted of short, uncooperative, "that's classified" type of responses, or along the lines of "I'm not at liberty to discuss that". I can tell my lame responses are frustrating Shirabe to no end, but he puts in an admirable effort to conceal it, his tone unreflecting of a single hint of negative emotions.

"Alright well that'll be all for now, Karasuma. Thank you for your time. I'll likely be in contact with you at some point over the next few days to clear some things up as I continue my investigation".

He nudges his partner, startling him from his scribbling of notes.

"Have a good day" Shirabe says as he climbs in his car and begins driving off, keeping his eyes locked on me the whole time.

I see the three paramedics close the doors of their ambulance, having successfully loaded all 5 people" They start getting into their vehicle and turn the engine on.

I race over to the driver's window and knock on the window with the back of my hand. The paramedic at the wheel noticeably jumps at the sound and frantically rolls down the window.

I flash him my federal badge, to which he shoots me a wide eyed quizzical look. I muster up my most authoritative voice.

"I'll be taking the two boys in my care, effective immediately."

"I'm not legally allowed to let you do that that, sir, -"

"Maybe I didn't make myself clear. I've been ordered to take both the boys back into protective care. It's not safe for them or anyone around them. Taking them to a public hospital could put everyone in danger. And it's your duty to save lives, isn't it?"

"W-well yes, but the boys are wounded and need to be treated at a hospital. I'm sorry but I can't let you take them under your-"

"Are their lives in jeopardy?" I interject.

He hesitates a moment. "No, but-"

"And they're in stable condition right?"

"For now, but one of they've both sustained moderate damage, and toxic residue is still present in their bloodstream."

"It's not lethal though, and my people can easily treat those things. One of my colleagues is currently working on a treatment for the poison and is preparing doctors of our own as we speak for their arrival, where we can treat them in a secure location that will ensure everyone's safety"

He goes silent, surely in a state of morale turmoil.

"I won't ask again. Open the back doors" I say sternly.

Finally the paramedic nods and slowly gets out of the ambulance, leading me to the back and opening the heavy doors. His two colleagues are already in the back, unstrapping the students from their stretchers. They each hand me one of them, and I sling each over one of my shoulders.

"Thanks for your cooperation"

The paramedic nods despondently, as though feeling guilty.

"You're doing the right thing. You're preventing a huge potential loss of life." I assure him.

He starts to shut the cumbersome doors again when suddenly my blood goes cold.

"Wait"

He stops just before they seal shut, leaving them slightly ajar, and looks back at me gingerly with a puzzled expression.

"Open it again" I order

He cooperates and unknowingly confirms that my eyes had not deceived me.

There are only two other people on stretchers.

I sporadically spin around and scan our immediate surrounding, and the spot where I had recalled him last falling. No trace of him.

"Sir?" The paramedic inquires.

"Where's the old man!?' I say, raising my voice, despite my best efforts to conceal my alarm.

"What old man?"

Shit. How did that geezer elude us? Where could he have gone? I remember striking him with his poisoned blade, it should be impossible for him to even be awake right now, let alone get up and sneak away right under our noses.

"Nevermind" I mutter through gritted teeth. I turn around and storm off, leaving a dumbfounded paramedic with a blank expression on his face.

I gently set both Nagisa and Karma in the backseat of my car and plop myself down behind the wheel. I look in the mirror and stare at the two boys' slumbering forms for a long while, trying to figure out the best course of action.

Of course the explanation I gave the paramedics was improvised, but in hindsight, it actually seems like the best thing to do. I'll have them safely treated under guarded supervision, and I can speak with the Director about the state of things.

But there's something I need to do first.

I turn the keys and the engine roars to life.

But rather than turning around and heading towards HQ, I continue driving forward.

To Nagisa's house.

I need to see his mother for myself.

I had dithered on whether or not I should inform the police or paramedics about Nagisa's mother's corpse, but ultimately came to the conclusion that it would do more harm than good. Detective Shirabe seems like a capable individual, and he could pose complications for me in the future. Last thing I need is to pique his interest and captivate his attention to the case wholeheartedly. And if there's any residue or signs of a tentacle monster, or serum, I can't risk letting this incident become a public affair.

My car comes to a stop right in front of Nagisa's house at the end of the driveway.

I take my hands off the wheel and glance back at Nagisa and Karma, still out like lights, their chests rising and falling with each shallow breath. I climb out of the car, leaving the engine running and the headlights on. I won't be long, all I want to do is perform my own preliminary assessment and then call HQ to retrieve the body, clean up the mess, and do an extensive autopsy. With a little luck, they'll find some traces of tentacle serum or some of the attacker's DNA.

I reach for the doorknob and pause for a minute.

I've seen my fair share of horrible, gory messes through my line of work. On a much grander scale.

But that doesn't mean it's now something I can jauntily walk into and not even bat an eye.

I open the door with an insidious creak, and step inside. All the lights are off as expected. I feel around the walls for a light switch but can't seem to find it. Seriously, no entrance light?

I take a few tentative steps forward through the darkness, and my toes hit a stiff object.

I know immediately what it is, a limb under the effect of rigor mortis. I reach around a corner with an arm into what I presume to be the kitchen, based on Karma's candid description.

I flick the lights on, and I immediately grimace.

It's just as awful as described, and it makes sense that Karma was so caught off guard and traumatized.

Blood everywhere, seemingly more than a single human body could've possible contained.

Exposed guts and innards, a horrifically maimed and demented corpse.

But other than a grimace, it elicits nothing from me.

Because the sad truth is, I've seen it all before.

In fact, I have no issue in approaching the body for closer inspection. The wound on her chest is, for lack of a better word, impressive. At first I thought someone had blasted her chest wide open with a shotgun, or something alike. But the way her ribs protrude outwards instead of inwards, indicates that it was actually just completely torn open. Something incredibly unstable and powerful must've done this.

Crouched low, deep in thought, I don't hear the creep of unsteady footfalls behind me.

Or the sharp inhale of oxygen, coming from a newly inconsolable boy.

But I do hear the sound of a body hitting the floor, and the jarring scream of uninhibited terror.

Or the sound of someone's final string of sanity, snapping violently, echoing around the room. A tear that will never be mended.

I jump up and whirl around to the broken student of mine, hyperventilating out of panic and disbelief, frantically clawing at the puddle of his mother's blood which surrounds him.

"M-m-mom…" His weak voice trails off, degrading into a fit of sobbing. Oddly enough, his gaze doesn't leave the remains of his mother.

I do what comes naturally, my body moving on its own accord.

I walk over to Nagisa and place myself obstructively between him and his mother, kneeling down into the puddle of blood. I feel strangely uncomfortable, as if I'm intruding upon an intimate reunion between mother and son. But he continues to stare right at my chest, as if staring through me, still looking at his mother.

I take his head into my arms and embrace him. He doesn't resist. In a situation for which words cannot hope to serve well, this is the only thing I can think of doing.

When suddenly, taken by surprise, I feel him go silent and his posture softens, no longer shaking. I release Nagisa and look at his face.

For I sensed the unfathomable amendment of his sanity. The final string of his sanity, which was so violently ripped apart, becomes connected once again.

But it isn't the same.

It wasn't a clean reconnection.

The two ends were superficially tied back together, leaving a weak, gnarled bulge at their junction.

A chill goes down my spine as a genuine smile graces the boy's soft complexion. His tears stop flowing, and in a hushed, relieved tone, he whispers:

"Hi mom. I'm home!"

 **A/N :O poor Nagisa, he's finally snapped. Sorry if that last bit was distastefully poetic for some of you, it's just how I felt like writing it lol.**

 **Next chapter: Wait and find out!**


	11. Chapter 11

**A Darker Path**

TheReaperCometh

 **A/N: Hey! Don't worry the story isn't on hiatus or anything! Life's just been real hectic lately for me. I work part time in retail, and I've been working a lot more hours since it's leading up to christmas! Throw a whole bunch of tests and summatives that all my teachers want to cram in before holiday break, and I've had barely any time to do any writing! I should be back on track soon though, so please be patient!**

 **Enjoy**

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Chapter 10:

"Suppression"

 **POV Karma**

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My eyes flutter open and languidly scan my surroundings. The only thing my eyes are able to ascertain, struggling open against heavy eyelids, is that I'm in a vehicle. A posh car, in fact. The comfy leather backseat I find myself in, coupled with the quiet humming of the engine, erodes my willpower to keep my eyes open.

My mind drifts, buzzing quietly with lofty questions which arose from the few seconds of retained vision. Who's car is this? It isn't moving, so where have I stopped? Where am I?

I lean over, unable to keep my head upright anymore. I concede to my tiredness and abandon my queries. No point mulling it over when I can't even keep my eyes open.

Starting to fall asleep again, my head lolls to the side. The new tilt of my head must've been enough to offset my balance: gravity takes over, sending the side of my face to mash into the window. The cool glass against my cheek jars my senses and I jerk upright, now fully awake and hyperactive as if someone had just splashed freezing cold water all over me.

It's still nighttime. My eyes fixate on the clock, which seems so unbearably bright in the pitch black. It's only 6:09. The last thing I remember is battling the old man with the serpentine cane in the middle of the street with Karasuma… and then…

I wrack my brain trying to recall exactly how that duel ended.

That's right: Karasuma had sliced him with his own cane before it managed to pierce me! Which means we won? I suppose that means that this has to be Karasuma's car. But then where the hell is he? And even more importantly, where's Nagisa? I gaze pensively out the window trying to make sense of my bizarre awakening. We're parked right outside a house. Why? Who's house is this?

Then I hear it. A fleeting, chilling wail coming from inside the house, eradicating the quiescent atmosphere. There's a disconcerting familiarity to it. My body moves on its own, as I open the car door and step out. The vehicle's engine encourages me forward with its persistent purring. Now that I'm out in the open, I can clearly see the house in its entirety, I gulp.

It's Nagisa's.

Why.

Why are we here.

A lump forms in my throat as I reach the front porch, becoming thicker and thicker with each step until I can no longer swallow.

Although religion is a foreign practice to me, I say a quick prayer before turning the door knob.

Maybe it's just Karasuma in here. Maybe the body has already been cleaned up, and Karasuma is telling Nagisa an innocuous lie explaining why his mother isn't here.

I swing the door open quickly.

Maybe-

My hopes are dashed as I walk inside and my vision falls on the two figures crouched low on the floor, surrounded by blood.

Karasuma and Nagisa are locked in an embrace, the only audible sound being the soft whimpers of the blue haired boy, drenched in his own mother's blood, partly muffled by our teacher's chest. Karasuma glances back at me with stern yet apologetic eyes, without saying a word, or disengaging from Nagisa. My eyes glance around the room briefly, trying to grasp what Nagisa must be feeling right now, seeing all of this for the first time, knowing this entire room is covered, in essence, by his mother.

Most of the blood, except for the thicker puddles like the one surrounding Nagisa, has been desiccated, leaving the entire room caked in a film of crimson crust.

Karasuma gets up slowly, making sure to stay in front of Nagisa so he still can't see his mother. When he gets to his feet, he glances down sympathetically at the broken boy before him. After realizing Nagisa has no intention of getting up anytime from his pool of woe, he reaches down to pull him to his feet.

"No" Nagisa says in a dry voice, lacking any inflection. Taken aback by the calm denial of assistance, Karasuma's hand jerks back slightly in apprehension. I'm sure that like me, Karasuma senses the sheer volatility of Nagisa's mind right now, despite his emotionless mask.

Before Karasuma or I can figure out exactly how to react to the situation, Nagisa chooses for us. He extends his arms behind him to steady himself before pushing himself up off the ground, his hands landing with a sickening splat in the puddle around him. As he rises to his feet, a steady dripping sound is heard as blood drips from his oversaturated form. Nagisa pays no heed and simply walks past Karasuma and myself, before coming to the front door. He reaches for the door knob and freezes, finally noticing his bloodied outstretched hand. He gazes at it for a long moment and a stagnating air pervades the house, as Karasuma and I watch with bated breath for his reaction.

Then, Nagisa laughs nervously and runs his bloody hand through his hair, marring his cobalt locks with a violent streak of red. Without glancing back he opens the door and walks out, leaving us with a single dry statement before closing the door behind him.

"Bye mom. I'll be back, just heading out with sensei for a while…" he mutters dissociatively. An eerie silence envelops the room, cut through only by the muffled sound of a car door opening and closing outside. After staring blankly at the door for a couple minutes, I suddenly feel a firm hand clasp on my shoulder and I jump. I turn around and my eyes meet with Karasuma's for only a second, before his hand leaves my shoulder and he passes by. He reaches the door and pauses for a moment.

"We need to be there for him. You especially, of all people" He says before heading out to join Nagisa.

His words enter my ears and travel directly to my chest, where they collect, churning in resonance with my heartbeat. Nagisa… my only true friend.

I'll be there for him.

But what will happen to him now? Where will he live? I'd be surprised if his deadbeat father decides to step up.

I shoot a spiteful look towards Nagisa's mother as I head for the door. I didn't think it was possible, but I dislike her even more now than when she was alive, for putting us in this shitty situation.

All she's ever caused Nagisa is pain and confusion. Even in death.

I open the door and walk out towards the parked vehicle.

 **POV Nagisa**

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I impatiently exhale against the window, my warm breath playfully fogging it up. I drag my finger along the clouded window, drawing abstract shapes and lines on the cool glass. I tap my foot impatiently. After what feels like an eternity, I finally see Karasuma emerge from the house. Why does he look so… down? He opens the car door and plops down into his seat, without even acknowledging me.

We sit in silence for a few moments, until I can't take it anymore.

"Karasuma sensei. When can we visit everyone at the hospital? I'd like to see them all as soon as possible, I'm really worried. So is my mother."

Karasuma's posture noticeably stiffens at my last comment. He remains silent.

"Um… what's wrong, Karasuma sensei?"

He turns around slowly, with an apprehensive and… pitiful, glint in his eyes. Oh no. I hope mom didn't say anything embarrassing about me, regarding my gender, or my dresses. I feel my face heat up in embarrassment.

"Is it something my mom said? I'm sorry if she said anything that made you feel uneasy or uncomfortable..." I let out a nervous laugh and start fiddling with my hair:"she can be a bit… pushy".

Still Karasuma says nothing. He and Karma exchange a glance, making me feel even more uncomfortable. What am I missing here? Anxious to get off topic, I switch to the first question that comes to mind.

"So… where are we headed now? Are we going to see everyone at the hospital?"

I glance nervously between Karma and Karasuma. Neither of them reciprocate eye contact. Are either of them gonna say anything? I see Karma open his mouth to say something, but Karasuma cuts him off.

"Don't worry Nagisa, we'll see them all as soon as possible today. First we have to stop by my workplace and start looking into the investigation of who attacked you guys up on the mountain tonight. We may have a lead on one of the perpetrators that was involved. It may even be the person that was the tentacle monster."

I bolt upright in my seat, startling Karma.

"What?! Who do you think it is?"

"I'm afraid it's all just speculation right now. I'll learn more when we get there and I'll let you know."

He replies curtly. Why is he acting so… evasive? He and Karma are both so quiet. Anger swells inside of my chest at their uncooperation.

"What? That's bullshit, Karasuma! if you have ANY idea who it was, you have to tell me! I need to know, who it was that murdered-"

"More importantly," Karasuma interrupts while looking back at me through the rearview mirror, "How are you right now, Nagisa? Do you... feel okay?" he asks tentatively, glancing to Karma. What's going on between them?

His question hits me like a bullet, catalyzing all my bottled up emotions to burst out. I can't stop myself from raising my voice:

" 'Okay'? Do I feel okay? Of course I don't feel okay! Nothing about last night was okay! I saw one of my best friends get DECAPITATED before my very eyes! I saw my favorite teacher get impaled from behind and die…" I choke back tears: "...and all I could do was sit back and cry, and watch them perish. In what world could I possibly be okay right now!?" I'm basically screaming at this point. I huff with laboured breath.

"Nagisa…" Karasuma starts before trailing off, as if the words lost their way from his vocal cords.

I look to Karma. He's looking out the window despondently, and I can see the reflection of his pained expression.

"I… I'm sorry. I didn't mean to lash out at you guys. I just… don't know what to do anymore. It just feels like the whole world fell apart so quickly..."

My apology lingers in the air, until finally Karasuma nods in agreement. Without a word, he puts his foot on the gas pedal and we're on our way towards his workplace.

I glance over my shoulder, back at my shrinking house.

At least I still have my mother.

I don't know what I'd do if I lost her, or Karma, or Karasuma, on top of everything that's already happened.

In fact, I'd probably…

no. Best not to think about that. Karma's safe. Karasuma's safe.

She's safe.

A few minutes later we arrive at the entrance to an underground parking lot of a very secretive building. From the outside, it looks like an inconspicuous office building, about 15 stories high, made nearly entirely of translucent tinted windows. But once you get closer, you'll see that there's more than meets the eye. Instead of your typical security guards, the men guarding the entrances to this building are all wearing fancy black suits, opaque shades and communication earpieces. There were three underground parking lot entrances, one with the numbers 1-3 above them, the second one with 4-6, and the third one 7-10. Karasuma presented his access card, which I noticed had his picture, full name, and the number 7 printed in the bottom right corner, to the posted guardsman. Maybe the number has a correlation to level of authority? In that case, 7 is pretty high...

The guard verifies the card's authenticity with a scanner and asks Karasuma what business he has here today.

"I have an important meeting with the Director this morning. In fact, I'm already very late, so if you could speed things up that'd be greatly appreciated"

"Oi, Karasuma, how's it going?" Another voice cries out. I glance up to see another security card walking towards us with a wide smile on his face. He's a short, stocky man with a scruffy black beard, seemingly in his mid thirties. He's the only security guard I've seen today who isn't wearing sunglasses, exposing two gleaming emerald eyes.

Karasuma visibly brightens as he sees the newcomer.

"I've been better, George, I've been better. I haven't seen you since you were dispatched over in Russia, when'd you get back?"

"Aye, I got back two days ago! And lemme tell ya, it's good to be back! If you thought it got cold around here over the winter, it's fucking crazy over in Russia! My nutsack was permanently shriveled the whole damn time and I wore my jacket to bed nearly every night!" He exclaims with a chuckle.

A small laugh escapes Karasuma's mouth. I smile too, much to my surprise. This man just radiates an undefinable… warmth and positivity.

"I went to Russia a while back, but I was fortunate enough to go in the summer. It's good to have you back, George, and from the looks of it, unscathed as well." Karasuma says.

"Aye not quite!" He unbuttons his suit and lifts up his undershirt, proudly flaunting a fresh looking scar, seemingly from a knife. It almost still looks raw, in fact.

"I got that from a little russian wanker! Boy couldn't have been more than 19 years old, and he didn't even really mean to stab me! I was on my way out of one of Russia's top intelligence agencies, after successfully downloading some intel directly from their mainframe. I thought I was home free, when I heard an obnoxious alarm blaring all 'round me. I guess they realized a ton of their information had just been downloaded. So I start runnin' down the hall, angry russian shouting all around me. I rounded the corner - literally 10 metres away from the damn exit - when I bump into this scrawny boy. He jumped a mile into the air, and out of sheer reflexes the lil' bastard plunged the pocket knife HE JUST HAPPENED TO BE HOLDING into my stomach! I gave 'im one good sock in the face and he was out like a light, then I made my escape" He concludes as he lowers his shirt again.

Karasuma laughs, which catches me off guard: because it wasn't his usual chuckle - it was a genuine, fully fledged laugh. And it made me sad that I hadn't heard it many times before, because it was a nice laugh, as weird as it sounds. It was a deep, wholesome sound, clear and booming. Highly contagious too, as Karma and I both smile in response.

"Well it's a nice battle wound George. It's a good thing you got all that padding so the blade didn't reach any of your organs, you fat bastard" Karasuma quips.

George clutches his gut and contorts his face, taking mock offense.

"Oi, fuck off ya bugger!" He says with a hearty laugh and a flip of his middle finger. The he looks past Karasuma for the first time and notices us.

"And who are these kids in the back?" He asks

"They're my students… from E-class." He says glumly, and for a second I feel shameful of my existence, and guilty that I had ruined their happy reunion. From Karma's solemn expression, I see he feels the same.

George laughs "Oh that's right! You were pretending to be a… what was it? A gym teacher? To kill that alien at Kunugigaoka -" He stops mid sentence and recoils in realization, about the tragedies that occurred last night. He bows his head slightly towards us.

"Oi, I'm sorry boys, I didn't mean to laugh and seem insensitive right there, you must be here for the meeting with the Director and-"

Surprising even myself, I cut him off.

"It's fine sir, we know you meant no disrespect. But please let us through now" All eyes fall on me for a moment. I don't care. The last thing I need is pity from a stranger, even though I can tell he's a good man and his condolences are genuine. I can't take any more

"Aye lad, that's fair. Alright, let them through already Krates."

The other officer, apparently named Krates, moves over to a computer system.

"Of course, I just need to print off his parking ticket for him and then I can-" Krates begins, before George cuts him off angrily:

"Please tell me you're fuckin' joking lad. Take the stick out of yer ass and drop the formalities, these men have places to be, just let 'em through!"

Karasuma nods in gratitude, and the bar that was obstructing our path is raised se we can pass through.

"I'll see ya around then, eh Karasuma?" George shouts after us. Karasuma extends his arm out the window and waves in acknowledgement. I see George beam in the rearview mirror before returning to his post, hitting Krates on the back of the head as he passed by.

I've come to the conclusion that I really like George. The way he talks is really entertaining.

We find a parking spot and get out, and start walking towards an elevator with two more officers guarding its entrance. Karasuma walks briskly, and Karma and I struggle to keep up with his purposeful strides.

I watch his movements with admiration as I trail behind him. I've always idolized Karasuma a little bit. He's the type of man I want to be. I straighten my back and pull my shoulders back, lengthening my strides to mimic my teacher. We reach the elevator and Karasuma flashes the guards his security clearance card again. The two officers, a man and a woman, salute him and open the elevator door, shuffling aside to allow us passage. Karasuma salutes back and the three of us enter. I glance wearily between the officers flanking either side of the elevator as we pass by. They don't look back, still as statues. Karasuma presses the top floor button and the elevator door closes with a ding. With a rumble, we begin our ascent, moving at a much faster pace than your typical elevator. I glance at Karma worriedly. He hasn't said a thing for a long time now, which is so uncharacteristic of him. I'm about to say something when the elevator door opens, and Karasuma wastes no time in exiting at his usual brisk pace. I hurriedly follow him out, Karma following closely behind me. I'll talk to him later about what's bothering him.

We make a few right turns, and nearly every person we meet greets Karasuma warmly and by name, to which he politely nods in response. It seems Karasuma is quite renowned around here. For some reason, knowing this makes me happy.

We finally reach a big door at the end of the hallway. It says meeting in progress, do not disturb. Without a moment's hesitation, Karasuma flings the door open, and we're greeted with the sound of Director Shinji's booming voice as we step inside.

A/N: I know it was a bit short considering the long wait, but it's all I had time for and I figured I should give you guys SOMETHING to read lol. Will be back on track soon, thanks for understanding.


	12. Chapter 12

**A Darker Path**

TheReaperCometh

 **Chapter 11**

" **The Glint"**

 **POV Nagisa**

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Karasuma flings the conference door open so forcefully, that it slams into the adjacent wall with a jarring crash, engendering a deafening silence as 12 heads and 24 exasperated eyes fall on us.

"Well, look who decided to show up. Have trouble getting out of bed this morning, princess?" The director states sardonically. Karasuma bows his head apologetically.

"I was… held up."

Director Shinji snorts implacably. "Yeah, I received word from a detective… I forget his name... about 15 minutes ago. He says he bumped into you as a witness to a crime scene you and" he then motions to Karma and I with a flippant wave of his hand " these two - students of yours, I presume - were involved with. We can talk about that later, we have more pressing matters right now".

He gets up from the head of the table and and approaches us. Although not a particularly physically imposing man, I can feel a palpable sense of control and confidence coming off of him. I don't even know the man, but I already feel as though he could easily solve all my problems. I'd heard tales of how effective he is as a leader, and my first impression of him right now seems to validate the rumours. I can easily tell that just his presence alone would be enough to potentiate any man into taking action and following orders without a moment's hesitation.

He glares down at me, and I sheepishly lower my head under the weight of his gaze. I feel his gaze leave me, and with it the weight, allowing me to raise my head again. He glares at Karma analytically, and even Karma takes a few seconds before being able to muster the resolve to reciprocate the gaze. Bakama raises an eyebrow, out of either curiosity, or annoyance at Karma's obstinate defiance.

"So these two are students that participated in the incapacitation of all my soldiers? They don't look like much" He spits out judgmentally, though I can detect a hint of wounded pride in his statement.

Much to my chagrin, Karma interjects. I knew he would, as his ego would never allow someone to underestimate him.

"Good enough to take on your sorry excuses for soldiers. Honestly, if they're the ones defending our country, I don't know why we even bother investing tax dollars into the military at all."

I gape in horror as the director's jaw clenches and an alarming vein bulges from his neck. Before the director can lash out, Karasuma clears his throat to diffuse the situation.

"Ignore that comment sir, the boy barely understands how the tax system even works. Care to fill me in on what's being discussed right now?"

Director Shinji, responds, eyes still locked in a cold war with Karma.

"Hmph. We were just tossing out ideas on possible suspects. We've all concluded that the main perpetrator - the tentacle monster - is Akira Takaoka. That's indisputable."

My blood turns cold. What. I frantically look to Karasuma for an explanation. Did he know about this? Karasuma eyes don't look my way.

"Are you 100% sure it was him?" Karasuma asks. The Director sighs in hyperbolized exhaustion.

"Now this is why I hate it when people are late to meetings. Re-explaining something is one of the most time inefficient things… anyway, it can't be helped this time. You were late because of unavoidable circumstances. I'll give you the lowdown. At 8:27 p.m, Akira Takaoka was freed from Kunugigaoka's maximum security institute for the criminally insane. He was helped by an unknown inside man, presumably a security guard, whose identity has yet to be determined. His escapade wasn't noticed until 9:45 p.m, at which time all prison cells are inspected, and final roll call is taken. His cell was empty of course, alarms were raised, but obviously it was far too late. It was soon after discovered that the security camera feeds for his cell block had been tampered with to a static loop which had gone unnoticed by the security guards monitoring the screens. A cliche trick, I know, but last night was so… eventful, that it actually worked. 27 minutes later, at about 10:12 p.m, a sample of the tentacle serum was stolen from Kunugigaoka's experimental research lab, about 15 km away from the prison in which Takaoka was institutionalized. In hindsight, it wasn't the greatest idea to construct our maximum security prison so close to our lab chock-full of dangerous and experimental weaponry. Now these things can't possibly be coincidental. Coupled with the fact that he has, er, had, a strong connection and feeling of resentment for your class, in particular a boy in your class, Nagisa Shiota. So that gives Takaoka a valid motive, which only further supports the conjecture that he was the tentacle beast. It would also explain the horrible murder of that poor boy's m-"

"For a 'lowdown', that explanation sure was long winded. Karasuma, Nagisa and I get the gist of it, let's move one.' Karma exclaims in an ostensibly urgent voice. He used some unneeded inflection when saying my name. I look to Karma with a quizzical expression. With my superhuman sensory abilities I feel his heart rate spike as we make eye contact for a moment before he quickly averts his gaze back to the director. Shinji has an appalled expression on his face for having been interrupted, before suddenly softening as he glances sympathetically at… me? Why?

"Ah, so he's…" The Director trails off, glancing between Karma and Karasuma, both of whom nod nearly imperceptibly.

"I apologize for my inconsiderate verbalization, I had no idea. You have my condolences young man. Okay people let's get back to work." He struts back to his seat and motions towards an empty seat next to him.

"Karasuma, take your seat. I didn't know you'd be bringing guests. You two can pull up some of the extra chairs over along the wall."

Before I can voice my confusion pertaining to why the Director of national defense just expressed sympathy towards me, Karma and Karasuma walk over to their seats, leaving me to stand awkwardly at the entrance. Not that anyone is paying me any attention. Feeling alone and embarrassed, I quickly scurry after Karma and pull up a chair between Karasuma and him. I glance between them, hoping one of them will be willing to address my concerns. They don't. Their eyes stayed glued forward, as if intentionally ignoring my attempts to gain their attention. Feeling frustrated and dejected, I put my hands on my lap and look towards the director, waiting him to begin this stupid meeting. Why the hell am I even here?

"I have some bad news" the Director candidly states. All the whispers circulating between members of the table cease instantly. Bakama swivels in his chair and with a click of two buttons, the lights in the room turn off and a projector turns on, displaying a slideshow of images along the white wall.

He clicks fullscreen on the first image.

"At our international community science centre in Tokyo, an experimental sample of a…" He waves is hand in the air searching for the right word, "antidote, I supposed is the best word, to reverse the effects of the tentacle serum, was stolen."

Excited chatter irrupts around the table, but Bakama's booming voice drowns it out as quickly as it started.

"As I was saying! The antidote sample was stolen two weeks ago, by an unknown vigilante who has remained unknown since then. Which is why we had to use plan B,The Shield and The Spear to try and neutralize the creature responsible for destroying 70% of the moon."

The Spear and The Shield was the government's plan B? We had a potential, easy solution to this whole disaster? Last night could've been completely avoided if some asshole hadn't stolen this antidote two weeks ago. Anger swells up inside of me. I look around the table and see everyone has dumbfounded looks on their faces.

"Sir, if you don't mind my asking. If we had a remedial serum this whole time, why didn't we implement it sooner… before it could get stolen" a man pipes up from the back of the table. Everyone looks to Shinji with expectant gazes, eagerly awaiting his reasoning. Shinji looks annoyed.

"As I said, the sample was experimental. It was the only sample in existence, and was still believed to be in the developmental stages when it was stolen. At least that's what I was told. Mr. President and myself both agreed it would bee best to wait until the sample could be recreated and perfected before attempting to use it. With the deadline fast approaching we couldn't put all our eggs in one basket too early on."

"Then how come we didn't just recreate it again?" The man asks again.

"For christ's sake, Kimyo, save the questions until I address you, we've been over this."

"My apologies" Kimyo replies, though his tone reflects no sincerity.

'To answer your question however, before I continue," Shinji continues "The perpetrator also made off with the notes regarding the creation and constituents of the cure, then wiped all information regarding the project from the system's database. Which is not only infuriating, but also troubling as this would mean the thief had high level access to the facility and computer systems. This serum took months to create, and it was apparent that two weeks wouldn't be enough time to redevelop it."

I jump a little in my seat as Karasuma's orotund voice comes from right next to me,

"Sir, if you don't mind my asking, what was the point of telling us all this? How is telling us about the antidote pertinent in any way?"

The director stops swivelling idly in his chair, and narrows his eyes at everyone in the room. His gaze rests on me for a nearly imperceptible moment longer than on anyone else, sending an anxious shiver through my body.

"Well you see," he starts before clicking a button on his remote and moving onto the next slide. The screen displays two picture side by side of two piles of shattered glass. So what? I glance around the room to see if I'm missing something obvious, but everyone else seems just as underwhelmed and perplexed as me.

"We have reason to believe that Takaoka is still alive."

Huh. That… can't be true. It just can't be. The bastard responsible for Kayano and Korosensei's death can't possibly be alive and roaming the streets scot-free. I.. I feel slighted. My head starts throbbing, pulsing with anger and guilt. I should've killed that monster when I had the chance on the roof of the hotel. Why did I listen to everyone, telling me not to kill him? If I hadn't been weak, fixated on retaining my own innocence and following a moral compass - if I had JUST done what I knew needed to be done to that sick fuck, and bloodied my hands that night, all of this could have been prevented.

Before I can continue my self-castigation, the director continues

"These two pictures are of the broken vials containing the tentacle serum and the tentacle vaccine. One was found outside the gruesome crime scene -" He stops and motions to Karma and I, directing everyone's gaze towards us. I reactively shrink back in my seat. Shinji continues: "which in light of our current company, we won't go into the details of. The seconds pile of glass was found on the southern peak of the mountain - right on the inner edge of where the Shield has been erected. This was obviously the one containing the reverse serum. In other words, there had been a tentacle entity trapped within the Shield that self administered the vaccine, reverted back to human form, and exited the Shield unscathed before Spear was fired."

"Now here's a photo of a trail of lone tracks of very large footprints going down the south side of the mountain, where no students or soldiers had been all night. They're also fresher than all the other ones, so they obviously-"

"Sir,pardon me sir, but how do we know that those two piles of glass were in fact the shattered vials that had contained the tentacle serums? Littering isn't exactly an unheard of practice, and that glass could belong to just about regular bottle or jar or-'"

The director cuts him off, though not angrily "You're lucky that's a half-decent question Kimyo, or I would be throttling you right now. The glass shards matched perfectly the type of glass the serum containing vials were made of - a very special silicate glass, designed to contain the highly reactive and volatile serums. I assure you that your average joe's mason jar or liquor bottle wouldn't be made of this glass."

A few snickers flicker around the table, before the ramifications of this knowledge sink in. Takaoka is alive. The bastard that killed Kayano is still-

" Now we dispatched 6 four man teams about 3 hours ago to thoroughly search the city for any signs of the man in question. They've been given a shoot to kill order, and by now they've already searched over 80% of the city." Bakama informs us, clicking a button and bringing us to a live feed of a bird's eye view of the entire city. Scatter over the map, there are 6 blinking red dots, presumably representing the location of each unit. Teachnology sure is remarkable these days. Under normal circumstances, being here in a top secret government meeting and seeing all of this would be enough to make me giddy with excitement at the prospect of being in a spy movie. But I'm in a shitty mood right now, and no amount of bewilderment can distract me from my contempt.

But my ears perk up a bit at hearing this. There's a chance he'll be brought to justice after all.

"And?" Karasuma asks dubiously.

"They've found jack shit, no sign of Takaoka at all."

My head slumps pessimistically. Of course. Heaven forbid something actually goes in our favor for once. That would be too easy. Fueled by frustration, I find my voice.

'So what's the plan now?" I say in an attempted polite voice, but it comes out cold and bitter. I almost wince at how disrespectful it sounded, and I pray the director won't be too offended by it

The director raises an eyebrow and regards e incredulously. All eyes, including Karma's and Karasuma look at me in surprise of my sudden outburst. Strangely enough, Shinji doesn't become angry or even annoyed. He sighs heavily and looks right in my eyes with a grim sadness. Something about it makes the bile in my gut boil and I just feel like punching something. Why does he keep looking at me like I'm the most irredeemably pitiable thing on the planet?

"I'm sorry, Nagisa, I know it's frustrating. I want to catch this bastard too, everyone does. He's a loose cannon: a dangerous psychopath on a good day, and an inconceivable monster on most. Aside from the fact that he's criminally insane and potentially armed, we have no idea what the after-effects of reverting back to human form from tentacle monster will be: he'll likely have heightened strength, speed and reflexes for a few days at the very least until the effects of his now dormant tentacle DNA wear off. It's of paramount importance that we capture him as quickly as possible, and you have my word as the director of national defense that he will be brought to justice and punished accordingly for his actions."

His sympathetic expression slowly converted to one of deep conviction and resolve as he spoke, his eyes never leaving mine while he spoke. Surprisingly enough, I find myself unable to tear my eyes away from his. His sincere speech was more than enough to quell my anger, and I come to the conclusion that I can trust his words wholeheartedly. I slink back in my seat, with a sense of numbing satisfaction.

"Now I won't keep you here much longer, Karasuma. I know you and your students have been through a lot and could use some much deserved R&R."

Karasuma nods appreciatively, and the director continues; "Your mission, Karasuma, is to do some digging of your own on the whereabouts of Takaoka. You know the man better than anyone. If you find anything, just let us know. You know how to contact me. Contact the bureau for any resources you may require that will help you in your search. Anything can be at your disposal, within reason, if you recite the high level access password inscribed on this card." Shinji says while handing Karasuma a small envelope.

"Hai!" Karasuma exclaimes. Karma snickers, reaches up and pats Karasuma on the head.

"Who's a good little lapdog?"

Karasuma shoots him a nasty look. A few quiet laughs resound around the table, and a faint smile threatens to tug at the director's mouth.

"You're dismissed, Karasuma. Go get some rest and then catch this bastard."

"Hai". Karasuma gets up robotically and beelines for the door, turning and bowing politely before opening the door and exiting. Karma and I scramble after him, bowing awkwardly before we race out the door.

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 **POV Karasuma**

"Get some rest and then catch this bastard". What a passively arm-twisting statement. He knows me well, and he knows there's no way I'm gonna sit on my ass and rest while Takaoka is still at large. While I can respect Shinji for being a strategic and decisive man of action, I really detest his craftiness sometimes. The building's hallways are mostly empty now, since everyone has hunkered down in their offices for a day of work. Times like this make me feel very fortunate to be a field agent, and not some pencil pusher cooped up in a stuffy cubicle all day.

But seriously, Takaoka is still alive? For fuck's sake, when it rains it pours.

I hear two sets of rapid footfalls catching up to me. I position myself in front of the more obnoxious sounding footsteps. The ones that just screamed Karma. I come to an abrupt stop suddenly, and a body barrels into my back.

"Oi, what's the big idea, teme!" Karma shrieks.

I smirk but force it back as I turn to face him sternly.

"Just because we're out of school doesn't mean I'm not your sensei. Don't call me teme, show a bit of respect. Or if you'd prefer me to not be your sensei anymore, I'd be just as happy to consider you as a normal punk and not my student. Then I'd be able to knock you flat on your ass for pulling shit like what you did back there."

I'm obviously referring to the lapdog comment in front of my coworkers.

"Hai, Hai, sen-sei." Karma quips dismissively.

That's about the best response I can hope for. I sigh as I turn around. But before I begin walking, I add:

"And don't touch my head ever again."

I start walking slowly, and shoot a quick glance over my shoulder at Nagisa. He's looking despondently down at the floor, with a look on his face that words can't describe. A facial expression that can't decide whether it wants to display disgust, apathy, or distraught. Nagisa has always been a bit difficult to read, unlike some redheads I know who wear their hearts on their sleeve unless purposefully hiding it for the sake of some immature prank. Looking forward again, I round the corner and the elevator comes into view, just 10 spaces away. Suddenly I can FEEL Karma grinning devilishly. WIthout even looking back, I reach over my shoulder and grab the wrist of Karma's outstretched arm, inches away from my head. I let out a long exhale.

"I knew you'd try to touch my head again after I told you not to. You're such a predictable little kid sometimes, Karma."

I hear him laugh. "Hoh? You're mistaken, sensei, I was just saluting to a soldier we just passed, that's all.

We haven't passed anyone in the halls for at least 30 seconds.

"Uh huh." I mutter. Suddenly my stomach leaps in my throat.

"Karma, where's Nagisa?"

Where the hell did he go? Karma looks around frantically, then he points behind me.

"He's right there, don't be so paranoid Karasuma."

I turn back around and see Nagisa is waiting in the elevator, leaning against the wall. Phew.

As Karma walks by me, I feel a hand tap the top of my head. I reach out to grab Karma but he ducks away and scurries into the elevator. I drop my guard for one second, and look what happens. I take a deep and exasperated breath before heading for the elevator again.

The ride down is quiet, and nobody says a word. I think Karma and I are too fixated on Nagisa to try to start a conversation.

The elevator doors slide open with a cheerful ding, clashing with the morose atmosphere emanating from Nagisa. We all step out into the damp and dimly lit underground parking lot. I parked fairly close to the elevator.

"Got any ideas on how to get Takaoka, Karasuma sensei?" Nagisa speaks up for the first time. Ah, that's what he's been brooding about the last five minutes.

"I'm not sure yet Nagisa. I'll have to make some calls and dig up some old files…" I trail off seeing the disappointed look present itself on Nagisa's soft feature. I've always had a bit of a soft spot for the blue haired boy. Maybe because of his small stature, his meek personality, or his delicate features considering his gender. I wish I could give him something more concrete. Knowing Takaoka is still alive must be eating him alive. But at the same time, I have the feeling that even if I did have an idea on how to find Takaoka, I wouldn't tell Nagisa a thing. For I recognize a suppressed glint of malevolence in his icy eyes. Though well masked by the young assassin, I've seen it too many times for it to slip by undetected. It's the glint of revenge. A glimmer that I've seen in the eyes of many talented agents and criminals alike when they envision themselves doing unthinkable things to someone else, reveling in the comfort that comes with imagining the infliction of pain on someone who has abused or oppressed you. Enemies I've captured and interrogated in the past would regard me with a look very similar to the one Nagisa has right now, though much more conspicuous.

I open the driver's side door and plop down into my seat. I hear the door right behind me open and Karma sits down with an exaggerated sigh. Surprisingly enough, the front passenger door opens up and Nagisa takes a seat next to me. He doesn't look at me, and instead opts to just gaze longingly out the window. I have no reason to object his seating choice, but I do find it a bit peculiar. I start the car and soon we're out of the underground parking lot. I flash George a quick salute out the window as we drive by and he beams happily.

"I'll see ya around then, ya rigid bastard!" He calls out. I've known him for years and we've gone on a handful of missions together. He always used to mock me in the beginning for being so by the book, and we actually weren't able to cooperate properly together. He thought I was too 'rigid', and I thought him to be too flippant and easy going. Our first mission together was to capture a chinese arms dealer, named Xiao Qing. He was the son of a Duke, and his pampered lifestyle as well as his access to an exuberant amount of money since he was born left him feeling bored and invincible.

But he wasn't just a snot nosed brat. He was an intelligent and cunning individual, who at the age of 20 in 2002 had become one of the most infamous arms dealers in japan, exporting thousands of illegal weaponry, military grade stuff, to Japan each year. Unfortunately, the fact that he himself usually remained in China and rarely actually came to Japan, coupled with his family's prestige made him practically untouchable and well beyond our government's jurisdiction. It was frustrating, to say the least, as gun violence crime was rising by 0.7% each year since he started dealing. Which may not seem like a lot, but that is an unbelievably large influence for one single man to have, especially since he wasn't even in our country.

It wasn't until 3 and a half years later, when he was 23, that we finally caught him. We caught wind of an extraordinary opportunity when one of our spies that had been posted to monitor the activities of one of Tokyo's most prominent crime syndicates, the Yakuza. It had been common knowledge that they dealt regularly with Xiao Qing, but they're dealings were extremely discrete and nearly impossible to catch them red handed. The few times we did, it was too late. So when Bakama Shinji uncovered the time and place of an upcoming deal, and that Qing was going to actually physically be there, he had no choice but to act. We couldn't launch a full scale attack, or kill Xiao, that would just raise diplomatic tension between China and Japan, and would certainly upset the higher ups of Yakuza: who still hold a lot of power to this day.

We ourselves had to be discrete. So Bakama decided to send in just two people: a gallant duo. Myself, a fairly new agent with promising skills and indomitable resolve, and George, a talented agents with a lot of missions under his belt. Long story short, after silently taking out a few of Xiao's guards and Yakuza henchmen, bickering about tactics the whole way through, George and I finally captured Qing and got out unscathed. Or so we thought. As we were making our escape, a whimpering arms dealer in tow, we were surrounded by a handful of Yakuza mobsters, all bearing illegal sub machine guns. To my horror, George held a knife to Xiao's throat and threatened to slit his jugular if anyone tried to stop them. The Yakuza nearly held firm on blocking our escape, but when George pressed the knife even harder against the young man's throat, he immediately ordered the men to stand down which allowed us leave freely. As we were walking away, a gutsy gunman actually fired at us, and to my surprise, George swung Xiao in front of him as a meat shield, allowing a bullet to bore itself deep into the dealer's upper shoulder. He screamed in pain and that immediately made the gunmen unnerved and they didn't dare try to stop us again.

When we were free and clear of it all, I tried giving George an earful for his unorthodox and poor choices and tactics. If Xia had died from that bullet there would've been hell to pay, that using him as a meatshield was not only a horrible idea, but cowardly as well. Well I learned a lot that day. George would have none of what I had to say. He shut me down and yelled back with an even louder voice, which at the time, given my own inexperience and his seniority, shut me down real quick. And I learned some important lessons from him. You can't always go by the books. No code of conduct or regulations book could account for every circumstance that could arise on a mission.

"Are the effin' government pencil pushers that wrote this damned code of conduct out 'ere, shooting, killing, and getting' shot at? Hell no, lad! It's nice and easy to sit in a stuffy cubicle all day, nice and safe and out of harm's way and tell others how to act in life or death situations. They aren't 'ere! So fuck 'em, and fuck your prideful code of conduct! Get yer head outta the clouds! The ability to improvise and adapt to a situation that's going down the shitter is the most important skill an agent can have, and if you can't look past yer own god damn selfish pride of having to be a perfect and upstanding agent, you'll be dead by the end of this year!"

His words hit me hard, and it made me realize that I had a lot to improve on before I could consider myself a 'good' field agent. I began to respect George from that point on. Eventually, after a few drunken endeavours at bars together after a couple more successful shared missions, we had a mutual trust and admiration for each other's skill and we became good friends. In a sense, the old saying stands true, that opposites attract. He helped me become less uptight and, well, unorthodox, and I was there to remind him that regulations were still needed and he couldn't just ignore their existence. Rules still needed to be followed.

Before I know it, I'm parked in my driveway. I had just driven back home completely on autopilot, which is a dangerous thing to. It made me wonder why I had so irresponsibly reminisced like that to begin with. I looked to Nagisa as he climbed out of the car and then I remembered, after seeing his face.

I'll never forget the look Xiao was giving George and I as we interrogated him and forced a confession out of him. It was the first time someone had looked at me with such hate filled eyes, and at the time it actually scared me because it was so genuine. It shocked me that someone who I had just met, who knew nothing about me, could hate me so much. I knew immediately, even at the time, that he was picturing my death in as many ways as possible.

I get out of the car and Nagisa asks me, disturbing my thoughts. When I look to him, the shimmer of vengeance is gone from his eyes.

"Sensei, can we please go visit the hospital now?"

I look at my watch. It's barely 8:00 a.m

"Nagisa, the hospital isn't open to visitors until 9:00. I want to see everyone too, but we'll have to wait a bit longer. Besides, I'm pretty hungry."

"I'm pretty… famished myself" Karma adds, yawning halfway through his sentence.

Nagisa looks as if he's about to protest, but as if comically on cue, is stomach growls which would've certainly countered whatever he was about to say. He looks away with a rosy blush on his cheeks. I smile knowingly and unlock the front door.

"Come on, I'll cook some eggs and toast for breakfast then we'll head out to the hospital."

With a hopeful look in his eyes Nagisa bolts inside and practically flings his shoes off, racing off to the kitchen, anxious to get breakfast over with. His energetic vim perplexes me, as it completely betrays his mood up until right now. Karma passes by me lazily and mutters,

"Only you would consider making toast 'cooking' Karasuma-sensei…"

I grumble under my breath, "yeah, well I'll make sure to burn yours".

"Just the way I like it." He smirks ironically.

I suppose this is how our relationship is now. Just a perpetual cycle of playful and sarcastic banter. I don't mind it in small doses, but being around Karma for prolonged periods of times just makes me want to rip my hair out. I wonder how Nagisa can handle it. Maybe with Nagisa, Karma is less insulting? No, I doubt it. Nagisa is frequently the target of his pranks. I suppose Nagisa just puts up with it, and maybe even enjoys it.

I have a newfound respect for the blue haired boy.

As I make my way to the kitchen, I see Karma has already made himself at home on my couch and has already acquainted himself with the tv remote. Nagisa on the other hand, is impatiently fidgeting, seated at the kitchen table. He's already laid out the cutlery at three spots on the table.

I put 3 pieces of bread down the toaster and idly scramble some eggs in a frying pan over the stove.

Karma finally decides on a channel to stick on. A show that I myself watch sometimes on rare occasions, called American Ninja Warrior. As the name suggests, it's a show originating from the United states, but we get a subtitled rebroadcast here in Japan. It's a show in which competitors, all in great physical shape, attempt to clear very challenging obstacle courses as quickly as possible.

I personally enjoy watching the show to admire the competitors and watch fruits of their training come true - it's interesting to watch as well, because although there are indeed professional athletes and body builders that compete in the competition, there are a ton of other people who have completely unexpected careers that participate as well: I've seen hair stylists and engineers come on this show who ironically and inspiringly perform better than the athletes and weightlifters.

Karma cackles as a man attempts to hop across a precarious spinning platform butt falls into the pool below.

But I suspect he watches it for another reason, no doubt he enjoys watching everyone fail and tumble ungraciously into the water below.

The toast pops and Nagisa startles at the sound, his ears perking up as he starts tapping his foot rapidly. He really can't wait to visit everyone.

I scrape each egg out of the pan individually with a spatula and place one on each plate. I call Karma over to the table.

"Itadakimasu!" Nagisa and Karma politely say with a clap of their hands before they start eating. Nagisa ravenously attacks his food, wolfing everything down as quickly as possible. Karma takes a few bites and I try my best to hold back a smile as he starts to gasp and his eyes begin to water.

I had snuck some very spicy peppers in his eggs.

He looks around frantically for a drink, mouth agape and tongue hanging out. He flutters a hand in front of his tongue futilely as he rushes over to the sink and starts drinking directly from the tap. Nagisa glances at him, concerned and confused.

"Karma kun?"

Karma can't afford to respond for another 30 seconds as he greedily gulps down mouthful after mouthful of water.

I continue eating as if nothing has happened, playing the innocent role in an obvious attempt to reveal my guilt. I hear the tap turn off and Karma whirls around and points at me.

"You bastard!" he cries. I look up, surprised, for his voice did not sound betrayed or angry. It sounded cheerful and congratulatory.

"So you do have a fun side to you after all, sensei! And here I thought you just permanently had a stick up your ass!" He claps his hands. Nagisa glances between us incredulously.

'Am I missing something?" Nagisa inquires.

I smile. What a weird kid, that redhead.

"You just missed the devilish handiwork of our sensei, Nagisa san. It seems we overestimated his boyscout-ness. Steve Rogers would be ashamed of you, Karasuma!" He jokes, but I can tell he's genuinely excited. If I had a 100 yen for every time someone compared me to that 'Captain America' I'd be able to quit my job and live a comfortable life.

I'm beginning to wonder if putting peppers in his omelette was worth it now.

"Oh man, I'll get you back good for that one day Karasuma sensei!"

Yep, it was definitely a mistake putting peppers in his eggs.

Nagisa gives up on trying to figure out what happened, and focuses on finishing his last bit of toast.

Now we're all done eating, and after washing up I look at the clock and see that it's 8:22 a.m.

"Oiiiiii, Karasuma sensei! Hayaku kite!" I hear Nagisa call up the stairs urgently. I suppose it's time we head out, or Nagisa might explode.

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 **POV Nagisa**

With a turn of the key, the car engine flicks off. I gaze out the window at the looming hospital before us. Looking at the large red illuminated H sign, I feel anxiety well up inside of me. It's a similar sensation to the one I get right before I give a presentation in class. I'm no longer excited to see everyone. There's a pit in my stomach.

I don't want to see everyone injured.

And I sure as hell can't handle finding out if someone else has died.

"Nagisa? What are you waiting for, baka?" Karma calls out to me. I blink twice and look around me and see I'm the only one left in the car. Karasuma and Karma are looking in at me through their open doors with analytical eyes. Feeling embarrassed I clammer out of the car muttering an apology.

Karma just laughs at my awkwardness and Karasuma begins leading the way into the hospital. We get inside and Karasuma tells me to wait while he goes and speaks to the receptionist. I look around at the depressing environment. I don't understand how anyone could make a career working in a place like this. I watch Karasuma talking to the woman. She obviously didn't want to tell him where the students were being kept, because I see him flash his badge and then point back to the two of us. The woman looks over Karasuma's shoulder any sadly looks at me. I feel my cheeks flare up and I look to the ground, unable to reciprocate such a condoling stare. Karma is completely oblivious, fiddling with a plastic fern we happen to be next to. The lady looks back to Karasuma and then starts pointing down the east win hallway, offering directions. Karasuma nods his head a few times, then bows politely before beginning to head towards the east wing. He glances over rat us and beckons us over with a curl of his finger.

For some reason, I take Karma's hand and pull him along, nervously speed walking after Karasuma. I don't look back at him, because I don't want to make grabbing his hand any more awkward. He doesn't pull away from my grip, surprisingly. I finally look back fleetingly and Karma looks into my eyes with a lofty expression. He smiles weakly. Through his hand I feel his heartbeat - erratic and rapid. He's just as anxious as I am.

We turn a corner and see Karasuma standing outside a room, waiting for us.

I give Karma's hand one last squeeze before letting go. I don't want Karasuma to see us doing something so embarrassing. We finally reach the closed door and Karasuma glances between the two of us.

"A doctor is with them right now. This is the girls' room, the boy's room is a few doors down. The receptionist told me they were all originally in separate rooms, but they kept adamantly insisting they be together. Normally this request would be declined of course, but since they are just students and they went through an abnormally traumatic experience, the doctors thought maybe it would be best to keep them together - close proximity with one another might even offer some therapeutic value - so they were all moved to the same rooms… aside from a couple students that are in the ER in critical condition." He adds with a low voice. My heart starts beating faster. Before I can fully regain my composure, Karasuma knocks on the door quietly. A few moments later a bald man with thin rimmed glasses in a white coat open the door halfway.

"I just got the call saying you were coming. I presume you're Karasuma, these students'... teacher?" He asks in a confirming voice. Karasuma nods politely.

"Hi, I'm doctor Yasugo, pleasure to meet you" he offers his hand which Karasuma takes and they shake with one quick motion. "er, actually, not really, given the unfortunate circumstances" He adds. He steps to the side to allow us to enter.

"Hoooh? Bitch-sensei? What are you doing here!" Karma exclaims happily.

Karasuma's eyes widen.

"Ohayou, I-Irina" he stammers. I shoot him a questioning glance. Was that a stutter? I don't think I've ever heard him stutter before.

Irina giggles and opens her mouth to say something but she gets cut off.

"Nagisa!" My head snaps back from looking at Karasuma to the source of the exclaim.

My eyes light up instinctively as my eyes fall on Kurahashi's cheerful face, as she along with Okuda and Nakamura ebulliently wave their arms at me. Thankfully, they aren't even sitting on stretchers, and don't appear to be injured.

I find it in myself to smile and start walking over to them.

Suddenly a flash of green in the corner of the room captivates my attention.

My eyes dart up in shock. My legs stop functioning. The world around me fades away and I almost begin to cry.

For sitting upright in a stretcher, smiling at me,

Is Kayano.

H-How? I don't even care how. I'm overwhelmed with relief and joy, the likes of which I've never experienced before.

I force my legs to take a step towards her stretcher.

"K-Kayano?"

She tilts her head to the side warmly and opens her mouth to say something. I can't believe she's alive! This is the happiest moment of my life!

Before she can say something however, I blink from a buildup of tears blurring my vision.

And the mirage disperses.

I stare blankly at the empty stretcher before me. I begin to panic a bit. Kayano, where did she go? What the hell! She was just there!

And then reality sets back in and the real world envelops me like a cold blanket.

That's right. She died. She's gone forever. I'll never be able to study with her, or plan assassinations with her, or hear her energetic and contagious laughter. I'll never be able to tell her that I-

"Nagisa? What's wrong? Why are you crying? Daijobu...desuka?" Kurahashi asks in soothing tone.

I'm crying? I bring a hand slowly up to my face and touch my left cheek, feeling a wetness from a freshly shed trail of tears. I laugh emptily at my own ridiculousness, hallucinating Kayano like that. I feel like the spear that had lanced my heart upon seeing Kayano's head through the air had just been violently ripped out, leaving a gaping and vulnerable hole in my chest.

"N-nothing. I'm just… so happy to see you guys safe and sound!" The worry on the girls' faces disappears immediately.

"Aw, Nagisa-kun" Nakamura murmurs sweetly.

"Oi, what am I, chopped liver?" Karma says as he passes me to get to the 3 girls. He shoots me a knowing glance as he passes by, revealing that my feeble excuse for my tears didn't fool him.

Nakamura grins sadistically as Karma comes into view.

"Hey! Well, look who it is, the knight in shining armor!"

Karma and I exchange confused glances at his new title.

"I saw you run back to save Nagisa, and carry him off to safety, protecting him in your arms." she explains. The two other girls sigh dreamily, and I blush at the thought of what sort of scandalous imagery they could possibly be conjuring up of Karma and I.

Nakamura goes on and playfully punches Karma in the chest,

"You manly man, you!" She says sarcastically. "And here I thought you were just a bastard who only fended for himself!"

Karma, unfazed by her words, smirks back.

"Well you can bet that if it had been you left behind instead of Nagisa, I would've happily left your ass back there without a second thought!"

The two of them share a devilish laugh, which sends a shudder down my back, and the other two girls laugh nervously. I glance back and see that the doctor left, leaving Irina sensei and Karasuma sensei to talk alone. Karasuma scratches the back of his head as Irina giggles. I smile at Karasuma's awkwardness. I look around me at all the other girls in the room, either sleeping or unconscious on stretchers. I smile sadly at seeing that they're all at least alive, albeit in rough shape. Hayami and Kanzaki san are worrisomely connected to oxygen masks. I do a headcount. 2,4,6,8,10...? My heart skips a beat. I must've just counted incorrectly.

I count again. The total comes to 10 once more. Without Ritsu and… Kayano… there should be 11 students in here, excluding Karma and I. I then start counting each girl, one by one by name.

Yada, Okuda, Kanzaki, Fuwa, Hayami, Hazama, Okano, Kataoka, Nakamura, Kurahashi…

"Oi, Nakamura! Where's Hara-san!?"

The three girls look down with crestfallen eyes. It's Kurahashi that speaks up finally.

"The doctor said… she's in critical condition in the ER room as we speak… she… she got crushed by a tree trunk that the monster knocked over as we all tried to escape." She stops to catch her hitching breath and tears start to roll down her soft cheeks. Nakamura puts a comforting hand on her shoulder, which Kurahashi gladly takes as an invitation for her to turn and sob into Nakamura's chest. The hole in my chest widens.

"Ano…" Okuda interjects softly.

"Hara… she saw the tree falling towards Kurahashi and I. We didn't… even notice in the frenzy. So Hara… she pushed us out of the way of it's collapse but-"

"But she couldn't get out of the way herself!" Kurahashi cries out, whirling away from Nakamura's chest. "I-I-It's my fault she got hurt, I was so oblivious to everything! Hara…" She turns and buries her head into Nakamura's chest once more, her sobs now complete unrestrained weeping.

I'm about to offer her some comfort, and tell her it wasn't her fault at all. But the doctor comes in and interrupts us.

"Sorry, I'm going to have to ask you all to leave now. These patients need to take some medicine and get some more rest. And I don't mean to sound rude or insensitive, but youre getting quite loud in here it's disturbing other patients."

"Sumimasen, we'll be on our way to the male students' room now."

Karasuma and Irina usher Karma and I out of the classroom. I glance back one more time at the three girls before I leave the room.

"Sayonara, hope you all feel better soon. I… I'm sure I'll be visiting again soon."

"Sayonara" Okuda says on behalf of the three of them.

Karma offers a lofty wave goodbye, which I notice elicits a genuine smile from Nakamura.

As I walk outside, I'm suddenly embraced by two slender arms.

"I-Irina sensei?" I stammer in surprise. I feel her bosom squeeze tightly against my chest and my cheeks flush.

She pulls back a bit but doesn't let go completely. Her face is only a half foot away from mine, and I see her eyes are damp with the formation of tears. What's going on. I feel her warm breath against my face as she speaks, which makes my head spin. She strokes the side of my head lovingly as she speaks softly. It reminds me of how my mother used to talk to me when I was younger and she had just gotten me in a dress and done my makeup.

"As someone who grew up without parents, I can't even imagine the pain you're feeling right now, Nagisa kun. If you ever need someone to talk to, just know that I'm here for you okay? Whenever, wherever."

She pulls me in tightly again. I nod absently at her cryptic words. I'm not sure what she's referring to, but her words resuscitate an unusual pain deep within me. The pain is stale and sharp, as if I had forgotten about it and its source and it has be festering for a while. But why?

"Come on, I'll show you to the male students' room now" The doctor says as he starts walking down the hall. Everyone else follows him as Irina releases me,

Leaving me alone to mull over Irina's cryptic message.

 **A/N: Long chapter, I know! But I felt it needed to be done since I haven't updated in two weeks X_O. (ehehe… whoops.)**


	13. Chapter 13

**A Darker Path**

 **TheReaperCometh**

 **A/N: Finally, an update that's actually on time! Hope you enjoy…**

 **Chapter 12**

" **Family"**

 **POV Karasuma**

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"Irina…" I whisper softly as I grab her arm and pull her against me as we walk towards the boy's patient room, pulling ahead of Karma and Nagisa. She's still wiping the final tears from her eyes after her one sided heart-to-heart with Nagisa.

She obviously misread my intentions of pulling her in closely.

"Oh Karasuma, how bold of you!" She exclaims in a dainty voice as she swoons into me, and I feel a hand clasp my rear. I feel my face burn up but there's no time to say anything about it, I need to tell her about Nagisa before he catches up.

"No, Irina, this is important - it's about Nagisa." I glance over my shoulder to make sure Nagisa isn't within earshot. He and Karma are still a few metres behind us, and they don't appear to be trying to catch up to us.

Irina looks up at me with curious eyes.

'What about him?"

"Keep your voice down." I lean in closer, half expecting her to take advantage of our close proximity and steal a kiss. Thankfully it seems she understands my seriousness, and makes no move.

"We don't have much time, we're only a minute's walk away from the boy's room so I'm just gonna say it - Nagisa doesn't know his mother is dead yet."

Irina pulls away from me.

"What?!"

I cringe at the loudness of her voice, clamping a hand over her mouth and pulling her in closely again. I glance behind us and see Nagisa and Karma looking back curiously. I offer a weak smile of reassurance to them, when I feel a wet organ slide across the palm of my hand. I jerk my hand away from Irina's mouth.

"Why did you just lick me?!" I whisper harshly.

She gives me a pouty face: "Don't just clamp a hand over a girl's mouth like that." Suddenly I see the seductive glare return in her eyes, and she playfully begins tracing an index finger over my chest.

"If you really wanna silence me… you could always just use your-"

"Can you just push the lewd thoughts away for one second! Did you not hear what I just said?"

"Of course I did! But how do you want me to respond to that, here of all places? I thought he knew! I thought he had SEEN her body! And, then, why haven't you told him! The boy deserves to know."

We round a corner and see I see our destination come into view.

"He did see the body. I don't know how or why, but he's forgotten all about it and refuses to acknowledge it in any way. I was with him when he saw his mother's corpse - gruesome and mutilated as it was - and he was devastated. But as soon as we left his house he acted normally as if nothing had happened"

Irina's eyes light up as if she just had an epiphany.

"What's that look for?" I ask.

"I've heard about something like that. I read a book about the human psyche, where some people, after experiencing an intensely traumatic event, will erect a "psychological wall": basically the brain will purposely bury, or in rare cases, wipe completely, a traumatic memory. It's a sort of defense mechanism for some people to cope with trauma: to preserve their mental and physical health."

We come to a stop in front of the patient room. Nagisa and Karma are just a few paces behind us.

"In any case, we can talk in a bit."

Irina nods convictively then glances sweetly at Nagisa.

I knock on the door absentmindedly. A nurse opens the door with a warm smile and allows us to enter.

"Karasuma sensei! Irina sensei!" A familiar voice exclaims as we walk in. I look around the room until my eyes fall on Okajima, along with Terasaka, Itona, Muramatsu and Yoshida, all gathered in a circle around a deck of cards.

"AAAAAAAARGH ITONA, HOW DO YOU KEEP WINNING, YOU MUST BE CHEATING! YOU LITTLE - URK!" Terasaka throws his cards down indignantly as he begins to shout, but stops partway through to clutch his bandaged side in pain. The nurse sighs.

"What have I told you about exerting yourself? If you keep making a ruckus like that, your wound is going to reopen and we're gonna have to stitch you up AGAIN."

Terasaka mutters an incoherent apology. The way the nurse said 'again' makes me wonder just how many times they've had to re-stitch that wound.

"Hey boys, how are you holding up in here?" Irina says as she struts over to them. Okajima an Muramatsu ogle her with wide eyes and rosy cheeks.  
"Bitch-sensei!"

Still wearing a playful mask, I watch as Irina smiles and laughs at her nickname.

She walks right up to the two of them. With her eyes closed, a wide smile, and a cute giggle, she lulls them into a false sense of security.

I close my eyes and wait for the sound.

SMACK.

I open one eye.

"STOP CALLING ME BITCH-SENSEI YOU LITTLE PERVERTS!" Irina cries out as Okajima and Muramatsu cower in fear and shock at her sudden change in attitude, scarlet handprints already forming on their cheeks.

"Sumimasen!Sumimasen!Sumimasen!" They both begin apologizing profusely in tandem. Terasaka howls with laughter while Isogai chuckles nervously. All the while Itona hasn't even glanced up from his cards.

Thankfully the nurse had already left, or she surely would've told Irina to leave for smacking her patients. No doubt the red marks on their faces will cause some alarm later.

Terasaka cries out through his laughs.

"You idiots! You should know better than to call bitch-sensei bitch-sensei! Hahaha!"

"What was that?!" Irina shouts, her voice dripping with murderous intent, as she turns to Terasaka with a murederous who has his hand clamped over his mouth as he realized what he just did.

"Ano.. hold on bitch - i mean, Irina sensei - ehehe… surely you wouldn't try to hurt a wounded, traumatized student, right?" Terasaka asks, vehemently pointing at his bandaged side.

Irina says nothing.

"R-right?!" Terasaka cries out, looking around wildly at everyone. I shrug when he glances my way.

"Guys!" I hear Nagisa shout as he pushes past me.

The comedic tension in the room disperses immediately as everyone turns to Nagisa and Karma.

"Oh! Nagisa kun! Karma kun! Good to see you're okay!" Isogai exclaims in surprise.

"Yo!" Terasaka says with a goofy grin. As the 7 boys begin to excitedly chatter in happy reunion, Irina walks back over to me.

"Now, let's discuss Nagisa. Because I'm actually quite worried about him…" she says as she steps by me, beckoning her to follow me into the hallway. I nod and exit the room without any of the boys even noticing, and close the door behind me.

"So what are you going to do about Nagisa?"

I flinch at the question. It caught me off guard.

"What do you mean by that? Obviously I'm going to be there for him and support him as his sensei, and Karma will be there-"

"No, that's not what I meant, baka" She cuts me off coldly.

I offer my silence as confirmation of my incomprehension.

"What I MEANT, was… where will Nagisa be staying now that his single mother is dead? I've already checked, he doesn't have any extended family living in the city, so that's not an option. And the last thing Nagisa-kun needs right now is to be sent away from all his friends and his hometown to live with some unfamiliar relatives."

Is she that dense?

"I think you're missing something obvious Irina: he has a father too, living in the city last I checked.

"Hm, I don't know Karasuma, does he have a father?" She asks cryptically

"Is that a rhetorical question? His father came by briefly for a parent-teacher interview with korosensei just two weeks ago."

"I'm just saying, he's not much of a father."

"I don't see what you're saying, what are you trying to imply?"

"He's a deadbeat Karasuma. Why do you think Nagisa lived full time with his mother? Aside from the fact that she lives closer to his school, it's because his father's a shitty guy."

"That's hardly a fair judgement to make, you've barely even met him."

"That's the problem. He's never around. I never even hear Nagisa talk about it. And you gotta wonder why Nagisa never even wants to visit his dad, especially since his mother was kind of a lunatic and pretended Nagisa was a girl."

My eyes widen.

'What?"

"You didn't know? That's why Nagisa has his hair in such an effeminate style all the time, and why he comes to school some days smelling like women's perfume. His mother was a bit of a psycho"

I bow my head shamefully. How hadn't I known about this? I decide to return to our original conversation.

"Anyway, that doesn't change the fact that Nagisa will also be cared for by his real father now. He may not be the perfect father figure, but he's still family, and the most entitled and logical person to take care of Nagisa."

Irina pouts. Looking at the floor with crossed arms. She's so petulant sometimes.

"Besides,"I add: " I already contacted his father, offering my condolences and telling him what happened."

She looks up at me incredulously: " You called him?"

"Yes".

"And he actually answered the phone? What did he say?"

"Er… I had to leave a message…" I say hesitantly, fearful that I'm only helping her case.

She grins at me triumphantly.

"And, i'm guessing he hasn't responded? That's weird, you think he'd respond to an emergency like that pretty quickly. Oh, and he hasn't come by the hospital yet, AND he didn't drop by the school last night to see if Nagisa was there. That's odd, if I didn't better, I'd say he doesn't give a shit about Nagisa and-"

"That's enough Irina. How would you know he never came by the school last night?"

"Because I was AT the school, baka. All last night, until all the students were safely brought to this hospital. I've been here all night too."

I shoot her a disbelieving glare.

"Hey, what's that look for? I was! You can ask any nurse or doctor around here, they'll tell you just the same!" She takes a deep breath.

"Anyway, getting back to my point: EVERYONE's caring and loving parents came by in a panic, either at the school or at the hospital, to see the students. 90% of them only left this morning at 8, after receiving multiple reassurances from various doctors and nurses that their child was safe, needed to be left alone to rest, and would make a full recovery soon enough. Hara's parents are still sitting outside the ER room there, where she's getting spinal surgery. We passed them on the way here." She glances over my shoulder and points down the hall.

I turn around and see two people, obviously a mother and father - and based on their physiques, it's clear just whose parents they are. The mother is a asleep in the father's arms, while he stares blankly at the red sign above the ER room, indicating surgery is still in progress. I notice his head jerk every few seconds, as if he's desperately trying to keep himself awake. He probably hasn't slept all night.

"Oh, and guess who never came by at all?" Irina suddenly asks in mock confusion.

"I'll give you three guesses, Karasuma. Go on, guess who."

She looks at me expectantly.

Backed into a corner, having lost this little debate, I mutter quietly.

"Nagisa's father..."

"Ding ding ding! Wow Karasuma! First try, I'm impressed!" Her explicit sarcasm makes my blood boil a little bit.

"What is your point Irina, the man is still his father!"

I snap. I regret it immediately, as Irina regards me with a startled expression. A nurse pokes her head out of a room down the hall and presses an index finger perpendicular to her lips, demanding my silence. Feeling embarrassed, I mutter an apology to both Irina and the nurse, even though it's impossible for the latter to hear me.

Suddenly I feel Irina press against me. I look down and see her looking right up at me with puppy dog eyes.

"Look, I'm just pointing out" , she starts, "that he clearly isn't fit to be Nagisa's father. Especially during such emotionally volatile times. I doubt Nagisa would want to stay with him anyway. We have to consider what he wants, it's his life. I'm sure he'd much rather stay with his REAL father. The man that Nagisa idolizes above all others, who has taught him much more in a short amount of time than his deadbeat biological dad ever has."

I look down at her quizzically.

"And who would that b-"

My mouth is silenced as Irina plants her pillowy lips against mine. Surprised, I'm about to push her away when something stops me. Because it isn't the usual, sloppy and lustful kiss. This is warm and soft. She brought her lips to mine slowly, and I could've easily stopped her. But I didn't for some reason. She pulls away slowly, and I feel her warm breath tickle my tingling lips. Then she smiles.

"It's you, silly."

Huh? It takes me a moment to remember what she's talking about. I'm…

"Irina, what do you mean?"

"Baka, don't be so dense. He regards you with so much respect. He looks at you with a venerational look in eyes that just isn't there when he looks at anyone else, not even korosensei."

"I'm just his sensei, Irina, don't be ridiculous."

"I'm serious, Karasuma. You've just been too thick to see it. One day in November, before it started getting really cold, I was just leaving E class on my way to my car. It was 4:00 p.m and the sun was just starting to set, casting a warm glow. I noticed someone was training in the fields, surrounded by a bunch of practice dummies. I squinted and realized it was Nagisa. So I walked up to him and asked him what he was doing. 'I'm practicing some of the techniques Karasuma sensei showed us'. Curiously, I asked him why he was practicing so earnestly and tirelessly. And he looked to me and said: 'because I want to make him proud. I don't want to fail at killing korosensei and let karasuma sensei down.' I was a bit confused, so I asked him why he wanted to make you proud, and you know what he said?"

I look at her blankly.

"He said, in that nervous tone of his, while scratching the back of his head: 'don't laugh when i say this, Irina sensei, because I know it's silly: but I really like Karasuma sensei. I want to earn his respect and acknowledgement.'"

He said that? Truth is, I'm not sure how I feel about hearing him say that. I must have a pensive look on my face, because Irina starts to giggle.

"You can't think of a logical explanation around that one. It is what it is, you're his father figure Karasuma. I'm not sure why you're so flabbergasted. He's a boy who practically grew up without a father - it's no surprise that the involvement of a strong, dependable and honest man such as yourself in his life would engender some sort of admiration within him. I… I know what it's like to want a father. It's why I clung so closely to Lovro, who wasn't exactly a perfect fatherly figure…" She trails off sadly, before shaking her head smiling.

"And if you ask me, I think he'd enjoy living with you. You have more than enough extra room in your house, you understand his emotional situation, AND I know that secretly, even if you won't admit to it, part of you sees him as a son."

"So… what are you saying, Irina…" I ask, unsure of what to say. This is an idea I'd never even entertained before. And I don't just mean about Nagisa specifically, I mean the idea of playing the role of a father. I… had never considered myself to BE that person before.

"Do I have to spell it out for you? You should adopt him, Karasuma!"

We fall into an awkward silence. It's true that I certainly don't dislike Nagisa… he's quiet and respectful, so I'm sure he'd be easy enough to live with. I'd also be able to teach and protect him more effectively - I've always wanted to give Nagisa extra lessons, just one on one. I sensed an impressive aptitude for assassination in him soon after our meeting, and thought personal lessons would help cultivate that talent more effectively. But I never did, because I felt that would be overstepping my boundaries.

I shake my head. Am I actually considering this? Taking him in?

Then I sense the voice gnawing at the back of my head. The guilt.

Taking care of Nagisa more closely, after everything he's been through - after I've failed to be there for him at every given traumatic twist and turn these past 10 hours have offered - it's the least I could do. But still...

"Irina, you know I can't… with my work, and his biological father still being around I can't just-"

"That's bullshit Karasuma and you know it. I don't know why you're so hesitant about this, it's the best choice."

My mind starts buzzing. Maybe Irina's right.

"There's an easy way to know if it's the right thing to do, Karasuma. When you tell Nagisa about his mother - TONIGHT -" she emphasizes. I wince at her statement, But I innerly acknowledge that I'll have to tell him the truth - tonight.

"-just ask him how he'd feel about living with you. I already know the answer, but I'm sure you need to hear it from him for it to seep into your thick skull."

She spins on her heels and opens the patient room door again, and struts inside, leaving me alone in the hall with a turmoil of thoughts and emotions. I'll think about it later.

Just as I'm about to walk back in, I notice the nurse from before making her way down the hall. She's looking directly at me, so I decide it best to just wait for her.

"I'm sorry to be the bearer of bad news, Mr. Karasuma, but the doctor will be visiting the boys soon and they need their rest. I need to ask you to leave, please."

"Of course, sorry for the intrusion, we'll be on our way shortly. When do you think they'll be discharged?"

"Well I can't say for sure, but I actually believe most of them will be discharged… tomorrow afternoon in fact. Most of them are stable and conscious, with minor injuries. Of course, given the trauma they've experienced, it's advised that none of them attend school for 7 days, and seek therapy or counselling. I'm sure as their teacher, you understand?"

"I see. Of course I understand. I'll support them all to the best of my abilities, you have my word."

She smiles warmly.

"Arigato gozaimasu."

I open the door and we both enter the room.

"Sorry everyone, but visiting time is over. The doctor will be coming by shortly and these boys need their rest… especially that one" She adds, pointing to Terasaka.

Nagisa looks to me and frowns. I shake my head apologetically, letting him know it's out of my power.

Karma casually walks up next to me, hands in pockets, along with a dejected Nagisa. We begin heading out the door.

"Rest up boys. Jaa ne." I toss out casually with a wave of my hand.

"Hai!" They shout back enthusiastically. The nurse begins ushering them back onto their stretchers.

Irina and the two boys are waiting for me outside, bickering about something or other. Or rather Karma and Irina are, while Nagisa futilely watches from the sidelines trying to diffuse them.

We almost resemble a family, the four of us.

What a disaster that would be.

We start walking away, when I catch a glimpse of Hara's parents again, sitting like crestfallen statues.

I stop walking.

"Karasuma sensei?" Nagisa asks tentatively.

I feel like I should go and say something to Hara's parents.

But seeing her mother, now awake, with a fragile demeanor and red puffy eyes, the idea of going to offer my condolences fades away. It wouldn't help. It would only spark pain within them.

"I'm coming."

I catch up with them, and we solemnly head back outside. Neither Nagisa or Karma say a word on, although Nagisa's face is no longer clouded by the contemplation of murder and guilt.

I feel Irina's hand clasp my shoulder. She applies a bit of pressure, requesting me to lean down and I comply.

"My car is that way. I'm coming over at 7."

"What? Why?" I ask, my voice's tone bordering on panicky.

"Jeez, way to make a girl feel wanted" She chastises. "Don't get the wrong idea, it's just… as one of his teachers, and someone who has lost both parents… I feel compelled to be there for him when you tell him. I mean…" She glances at Nagisa forlornly, tears welling in her eyes.

"I just want to be there for him, because nobody was there for me…" she finishes, looking into my eyes imploringly. I look at Nagisa, talking with Karma a few metres away from us. He and Karma are both smiling as they talk. Like a gust of fresh air, it whisked the thick smog of concern high into the air. If only temporarily.

Because I know that sooner rather than later, the sediments of despair will drift back down to the ground and envelop Nagisa again.

Despite the fact that both smiles come are there's a clear difference between the two smiles.

Nagisa has an innocent and genuine nuance to him. Every movement, or expression, he makes resonates with you. His laugh makes you happy. His smiles put you to ease. His tears make you bitter. And when his face is empty or masked, it makes you uncomfortable. It's part of the reason why he has such potential to become a masterful assassin. But it's also the reason why telling him something that you know will crush his spirits, and taint his purity is particularly difficult to imagine.

Maybe it would be best to have Irina there. Lord knows I would have no sense on how to grant him the solace he will so desperately require later tonight. Karma will be there, but… when it comes to sensitive issues, I doubt Karma's consolidation abilities are much better than my own.

I nod. "Good idea, see you at 7 then. You know where I live?"

"Of course" She winks. I arch an eyebrow.

"By boys, see you around!" She says, blowing a kiss towards Nagisa and Karma, who wave emphatically.

"Bye bye, bitch-sensei!" Karma calls out. Irina freezes for a moment, and I expect her to turn around with some nasty quip. Judging by Karma's playful grin, that's what he anticipates as well. Nagisa slinks back towards the car.

But she doesn't. She just keeps walking until she gets to her car and climbs in, much to my relief and Karma's disappointment.

.

.

.

 **POV Karma**

The car ride home is stiff, a tense air filling the room like an unwanted visitor nobody wants to acknowledge or kick out for fear of being rude. At one point an ambulance roars by with howling wails, bringing an ounce of excitement to the stagnated atmosphere, but only briefly, before the doppler effect on its passing siren resuscitates the brooding mood.

Oh well, better it to be like this than have Nagisa-

"Sensei… could you just drop me off at my house. I think I have a lot of explaining to do for my mother, hehe"

Shit. i was hoping to avoid questions like that. I look at Karasuma through the rearview mirror and notice him clench the wheel tighter. He looks at me through the mirror entreatingly.

"Karasuma?" Nagisa asks again

Think Karma. You're good at bullshitting. I just need to think of one quick lie to-.

No. I don't want to blatantly lie to him right now. Perhaps an indirect answer would be best.

"Why? Sick of us already, Nagisa-chan?"

"N-no! That's not it at all… it's just… I haven't talked to my mother at all since last night… and.."

Perfect. I was hoping he would give a lame reason like that.

"Don't be such a momma's boy, Nagisa. Need her shoulder to cry on or something?"

He looks away, gazing out the window.

"Truth is… I just… really need to be alone for a while." He says through shaky breaths.

Well now I just feel like an insensitive jerk. How do I reply to that?

Karasuma clears his throat, and Nagisa and I both turn our heads towards him reactively.

"I thought maybe you two would like to stay for supper… I've already invited your mother, Nagisa, and Irina will be there too. I was hoping to keep it a surprise until later."

I smile inwardly. Nice one Karasuma, you aren't the sharpest tool in the shed but you do have your moments I suppo-

"EH?! Why would you go and do a thing like that!?" Nagisa objects emphatically, practically flying out of his seatbelt as he flails his arms.

Karasuma and I both look at him in surprise. His face turns a light pink and he immediately reclines back in his seat.

"Sumimasen… it's just… I don't know if you'll like my mother… she can be a bit…"

"Psychotic? Deranged? Bipolar?" I offer innocently.

He glares daggers a me.

"I was GOING to say… overbearing, but…" he trails off sadly, muttering under his breath.

"I guess those words work too…" I can hear him finish.

"I met her during the parent teacher interviews briefly, she seemed like a wonderful lady Nagisa. She hoped for nothing but the best for your future."

I freeze and hold my breath at the usage of the past tense. Hopefully Nagisa won't notice.

"Well, sensei… let's just say she's part of the reason I have a knack for assassination…" He chuckles nervously

Phew. I breathe again. He didn't notice.

"Well if she single handedly raised such a polite and kind young man, how bad can she be?" Karasuma asks in a rhetorical voice.

"Sensei…" Nagisa trails off as he shifts uncomfortably, his face turning from rosy to red.

It's almost cute seeing how Nagisa doesn't know how to accept compliments.

He's much better at taking insults, I realize. That's part of the reason why we've been able to be friends. I push most people away with my subjectively caustic and sarcastic personality, but Nagisa… he's okay with it.

Because of that damned mother of his. I still remember the first time I met that bitch and witnessed first hand her twisted cruelty towards Nagisa. It was right before the start of grade 6...

.

.

.

3 years ago

"Oh! I see you brought a friend over, Nagisa-chan! How wonderful!" Nagisa's mother exclaimed cheerfully as she knelt down before me.

"Hello there. You must be Karma-kun, hmm?" She addressed me happily, smiling widely.

 **At the time I was too young to notice, but I remembering it now it's all to obvious how superficial that smile was.**

"Nagisa has told me quite a bit about you! About a red haired boy he said was fun to play with and loved to pull pranks, you little devil!" She says as she had pinched my cheeks.

"Kasan…" Nagisa muttered embarrassedly.

"Oh! Sorry for embarrassing you in front of your boyfriend, Nagisa chan" She glanced sweetly at Nagisa. I looked to Nagisa surprised, raising an eyebrow.

"W-what! Mom, he's not my boyfriend! I've told you a million times we're just friends!"

He practically shouting. His face turned a shade of red that oyu wouldn't be able to find on any color wheel.

"Oh right, sorry! He's just a "friend that's a boy"" She said, adding emphasis to the last part by gesturing quotation marks with her fingers. Then she got up and turned back to the kitchen where she picked up a plate and began washing it with a rag.

I remember noticing her smile had disappeared immediately as she had started turning away from us to face the sink.

Nagisa had grabbed my hand which startled me and led me away quickly.

"We're just going to my room, mom, call us when supper is ready."

"Oh? You can't bring him to your room, Nagisa-chan? You don't want to let your new boyfriend see what a slob you are, do you?" She said passive aggressively as she turned to face us, plate and rag still in hand, with that fake smile of hers once again plastered to her deceitful mask.

I remember getting a chill down my spine, a foreboding sense that even as an 11 and a half year old I was able to easily discern.

"Mom, please… I don't even like other boys… I like gir-" Nagisa gets cut off, a piercing shatter echoes throughout the room, followed by a deafening silence, the only noise being the tonitus ringing in my ear.

"What was that, Nagisa-chan?" His mother said in a dulcet tone, surrounded by the sharp fragments of ceramic that once formed a plate just a few seconds ago.

Her body betrayed her tone, as she was trembling.

I looked to Nagisa, and his horrified expression sent my heart racing.

"M-mother… please don't, I didn't mean that, I just-'

"You little bitch! How dare you utter such nonsense to me?!" His mother screamed, as she marched over to us and grabbed Nagisa by the hair, violently ripping his head closer to hers.

 **At that time his hair was down, as Kayano hadn't showed him to tie up his hair yet.**

I remember being too shocker and afraid by her words to react, or even move. I just watched, helplessly, frozen like a statue.

Tears were streaming down Nagisa's cheeks as his mother continues to scream at him.

All the insults blurred out from my hearing, as I was too surprised and traumatized to focus on the words being said, seldom for a few glaring ones that burned themselves in my memory.

Daughter.

Idiot.

Retarded.

Whore.

Loner.

Disappointment.

Disgrace.

All words spoken, mother to son.

The most shocking thing I remember though, vividly, was Nagisa's face. It was the only thing I focused on at the time. He started to cry at first. But after about 20 seconds of his mother's ranting, he stopped.

His face became expressionless.

His eyes cold.

He even stopped moving, as his mother continued to shake him like a ragdoll.

He no longer even flinched as his mother tugged his hair.

 **He was so used to it. So desensitized that he just surrendered to the situation immediately. He had tried fighting it before, which only exacerbated the situation.**

 **This happened to him a lot, he was used to it. He could take it.**

Then his mother turned to me with wild eyes, and a psychotic smile, and my blood turned cold.

"I'm sorry, Karma-kun, could you go home? As you can see Nagisa isn't behaving well so I can't really let his friend stay over. What kind of mother would I be if I didn't discipline and correct my child's bad behaviour? You understand, right?"

I nodded wildly.

"Good boy. I'm glad Nagisa chose such a sensible young man!" She said as she patted my head, and then gently pushed my back, directing me towards the front door.

Bewildered and frightened, I staggered towards the front door, hearing Nagisa's mother continue her verbal abuse.

Just as I was about to leave, I heard Nagisa cry out softly, in a dead voice that made my eyes widen and my legs petrify.

"Sumimasen, Karma. Maybe we can have supper at your house next ti-"

A loud smack of flesh on flesh made me wince, as Nagisa's mother's backhand struck his face.

"Insolent brat! Don't speak unless I say you can! Have I taught you nothing?"

Nagisa said nothing, resigning himself to his situation once more.

I forced my legs to move, and left quickly, though I could still hear the screaming of his mother even halfway down the street as I ran home.

.

.

.

Present time, 6:45 p.m.

Things were awkward between us for over a week following that incident. I was too unnerved to approach him, and he was too embarrassed to see me. The ice was finally broken again when the teacher had assigned the two of us to be partners in a project, and that reignited our friendship. We never spoke of that night I went over to his house for supper, and soon it became a distant and faded memory.

But needless to say, I never went over to Nagisa's house again.

I lay on Karasuma's guest bed now, anxiously awaiting supper. Karasuma has been doing some paperwork in his bedroom since he finished supper 20 minutes ago.

Sushi, which non-coincidentally happens to be Nagisa's favorite.

It's almost time. For Nagisa's spirits to be flipped upside down.

Again. And I'm not looking forward to Bitch sensei's arrival.

Just fifteen more min-

My heart skips a beat as the doorbell rings and I spring up from bed.

.

.

.

 **A/N: Next chapter's a doozy! #prayfornagisa. POV Nagisa, obviously :p**


	14. Chapter 14

**A Darker Path**

 **TheReaperCometh**

 **A/N: Just a quick note, I'm starting exams soon so next update might be a bit late…**

 **But for now… are you ready to take a plunge into insanity?**

 **Chapter 13: "Tears Flow As Readily As Blood"**

 **POV Nagisa**

 **.**

 **.**

 **.**

Ding dong.

The doorbell rings.

"I-I'll get it!" I yell upstairs to Karasuma and Karma.

A nervous anxiety sweeps through me as I approach the door. On one hand I'm happy that I'll be able to finally see my mom. I mean, it's only been a day, but so much has happened that it feels like I haven't seen her in weeks.

I'm sure she's worried sick.

On the other hand though… I'm nervous about how she'll be around everyone. She isn't exactly the most amicable person in the world, and her volatile personality always puts me in an uncomfortable position when we're in public and around others.

But she's my mom and I love her, and I know that despite her turbulent personality, she loves me too.

I hurl the door open.

"Kas-!" The word gets caught in my throat.

Because standing before me, holding a bottle of wine is Irina sensei. She's wearing a… provocative black dress. I blush and look away.

"H-hello Nagisa-kun. How are you?" She asks, apparently startle from seeing me.

"I-I've been better, ehehe… um, come in, Irina sensei. Karasuma and Karma are just about to come down."

I step to the side and allow her to pass. She struts in effervescently, allowing a faint flowery scent to permeate the vicinity. She stops in front of me. After a few seconds, I realize she doesn't plan to continue moving, so I look up from the floor at her face questioningly. While my gaze travelled upwards to her eyes, I couldn't help but scan her entire body, and I feel my face burn up even more. I'm sure it's inexcusably red right now. I can't make eye contact.

"Nagisa"

I hesitantly meet her gaze.

"Do you think I'm pretty?"

The question came out of nowhere.

"I-I… uh… well, um" I stammer hopelessly, my eyes darting around at everything but her, looking for an escape.

She giggles.  
"I'm only teasing, you're so adorable when you get flustered." She finally moves past me and I let out a breath that I had apparently been holding in.

Just then Karma comes trudging down the steps. I half expect him to make a witty or denigrating remark on Irina's attire, which I realize also leaves the entirety of her back exposed. But he doesn't. In fact he seems… perturbed? Maybe he's just stunned by Irina's appearance as well.

Under a different upbringing, I'm sure Irina Jelavic would've become a famous model. She's not exactly… my type, but I can still recognize the fact that she really is one of the most beautiful women I've ever seen.

Karasuma has some incredible self control.

I shake my head. Jeez, what's gotten into me? I rarely think about stuff like that.

Finally, Karasuma appears at the top of the staircase. He and Irina exchange a curt hello and grim expressions, which doesn't pass unnoticed by me. What is up with everyone tonight? The atmosphere is already awkward.

"Come on Nagisa, the sushi is ready." The three of them all head into the kitchen.

"Sushi?" I question hopefully, unable to mask my excited tone. My mouth begins to water at the thought of the alluring sushi. It's my favorite food after all. Karasuma shoots me a knowing glance and Karma laughs.

"Seriously Nagisa, how boring does someone have to be for their favorite food to be sushi?"

Wait they knew it was my favorite? Wow. They must be trying to cheer me up, I conclude. My heart warms at their thoughtfulness and I eagerly walk after them.

But where is my mother? I glance back quickly at the door, praying I'll hear a knock, a ring, anything. But it doesn't.

A bedeviling whisper in the back of my mind tells me it's never going to.

.

.

.

I seat myself at the dinner table, with Irina to my left and Karma to the right. An empty seat across from memarks where Karasuma sensei will sit.

He brings over all 4 plates to the table, holding two in is hands and expertly balancing the other two along his forearms.

I begin to salivate as my plate is placed in front of me. I grab my chopsticks and separate them, hungrily eyeing every morsel of sushi on my plate.

"Itadakimasu!" I say enthusiastically. Man, it's been awhile since I've had sushi honestly. My mother only takes me out for sushi when she feels I deserve to be rewarded… which doesn't happen very often.

I'm so absorbed in my food, that I don't even notice everyone staring at me. Or the fact that nobody else said the traditional colloquialism. After shoving a few pieces down my throat, I clue in to the quiescent atmosphere around me. I glance around the table. Nobody else has touched their food.

I stop mid-chew, and glance around sheepishly. Do I have something on my face, or…?

"Uh, sorry… I didn't mean to be impolite, I guess I should've waited until everyone was-"

"Nagisa" Irina whispers sweetly as she reaches over and places her hand over top of mine, sending a shock through my body. Her hand is clammy.

"Irina…?" My voice trails off. I close my eyes momentarily and astutely focus on everyone around me. Through Irina's hand I sense her heartbeat. It's rapid, almost concerningly so. Must be pounding at a beat of 120 per minute.

Karma's is uncharacteristically erratic. Karasuma is the only one with a normal heart rate. He's eyeing me intently and I shift uncomfortably under the weight of his gaze.

I just remember that I still have food in my mouth. I chew twice slowly and gulp it down carefully.

"There's something… you need to know…" Karasuma says.

Something about his tone. The hair on the back of my neck stands up.

 **It's about your mother…** the cold whisper returns in the back of my mind, continuing where Karasuma left off. I clench my eyes shut, focusing all my energy on staving off the bitter voice. Where did it even come from?

"It's… about your mother…" Karasuma continues.

My eyes flash open in alarm. The voice in the back of my head resurges with an ominous cackle, teasing me with its clairvoyance.

The cold whisper continues to equivocate.

 **You know what happened. You KNOW the truth. You've buried it nice and deep in the soil of your conscience, but Karasuma's next few breaths will blow away the dirt, and reveal the its unsightly form.**

I look between Karma and Irina, both of whom are gazing at their untouched plates miserably. Irina's hand hasn't left mine, and her index finger idly traces over my knuckles.

Karasuma takes a deep breath. He looks at me sincerely and opens his mouth to speak.

 **A single lungful of air can inflict a much more crippling blow than any knife or bullet.**

"I'm not sure how else to say this, Nagisa, so I'm just going to say it:"

I see Karasuma's lips move, but instead of his voice, I hear the dark whisper in my head finish his last words for him, like a snarling wolf inches away from my ear.

 **Your mother is dead.**

Images of my mom flood through my head.

Her smiling face and her sweet tone as she presented a cake to 6 year old me on my birthday, singing.

Her joyful face when she took me to my favorite sushi place in grade 4, after I managed to get an 80% on a math test.

I remember her sad face all those times I adamantly rebelled against being a girl.

My scalp goes numb as I recall the sensation of her delicate hands combing through my long hair every morning for years when I was a kid.

Kasan.

Then the same images replay in my head once more, flickering and morbid this time. My mother, stiff with sunken eyes, brushing 7 year old me's hair before I go to school.

Blood. I feel it. The blood of my mother, dripping off her hand as she brushes my hair. It seeps into my hair.

Feeling panicked, I reach at my head and grab a fistful of blue hair. I retract my hand.

But there's no blood.

"Aha… ahahaha…"

I start to laugh aloud, much to the consternation of everyone around the table, who look at me in alarm.

"Nagisa-" Irina begins to speak in a wobbly voice.

I cut her off with empty laughter.

"Karasuma-sensei… why would you say something as ridiculous as that? My mother-"

I inhale shakily, and smile. Nobody else says a word.

I look past Karasuma into the kitchen, where stands my mother, her back turned, frying up sushi.

"Is right there" I finish, pointing into the kitchen. But my hand is shaking. Why am I trembling?

Everyone glances over their shoulders in shock.

"I'm... so glad you could make it here tonight mom. When did you come in? I didn't even hear the doorbell."

My mother glances over at me and smiles. With a free hand she waves happily.

Her hand is skeletal, however, free from the shackles of flesh. That's normal, right?

I wave back and laugh. Just then another person steps out from behind her. A bob of green hair, and a sweet smile that sends the happiest of tingles straight to my heart.

"And look" I continue, beaming happily.

"Kayano is with her too."

But nobody turns around to look.

Irina begins to sob next to me, I feel the trembling of her hand as she clenches mine forcefully.

"Ahaha… Irina sensei, why are you crying?" I ask sincerely. Why is she crying?

Why.

Why am I crying?

"Nagisa… I know it hurts. It hurts us all, but you need to acknowledge that… she's gone…" Karasuma states bluntly.

"Kayano… and korosensei... as well" Karma adds. I look at him in surprise. He's trembling, biting down on the thumb of his balled fist. He stares at me, but the fire typically burning within his eyes is gone, extinguished by the trickle of bitter, noiseless tears.

"But… they're both right there, how can you both say that?! Just turn around and see for yourselves! Irina, tell them!" I look at her desperately.

Her only response is another squeeze of my hand.

Why.

All they have to do is turn around and they'll see.

I wrench my hand free from under Irina's and slam the table with my fist, my plate of sushi clattering to the floor. My hand is clammy. I start to feel dizzy.

"JUST TURN AROUND!" I shout. "That's all you have to do! Just look! They're both right there… safe, and sound."

But my eyes betray me, as they continue to churn out tears.

I bring a hand to wipe my blurred vision.

When I can finally see, I look to the kitchen again.

And my mother is gone. Kayno isn't there either.

I jump from my chair to see the kitchen in its entirety. The chair clatters to the ground noisily. Reactively, everyone else around the table jumps up as well, except Karma, who desperately tries to cease his quivering.

"Where? Where did they-?"

My hand flies over my mouth in horror. My tears flow from my ducts uncontrollably.

Because crumpled on the floor in a bloody mess, Is my mother.

With Kayano's severed head in her lap.

"No…" I whimper softly, my voice slowly dwindling into inaudibility. My entire body stiffens.

Blood everywhere.

"No no no no no no…"

Tattered clothes. Deep gashes. Broken neck. Lifeless eyes.

"W-why… am I seeing this… my eyes…" My vision keeps blurring, the tears covering my vision faster than I can wipe them away.

"I… I can't see…" I cry as I begin to wipe at my eyes even more viciously. I begin to claw. Raking at my eyeballs with trembling fingers. I need to get rid of these eyes… I, I need to get rid of them! They need to be taken out of my head to make these visions go away!

Suddenly, my hands are seized and I feel two pairs of arms embrace me from both sides.

"Enough Nagisa… calm down… just calm down…. Take a deep breath… nothing you're seeing right now is actually there. It's all just in your head." Karasuma says in a soothing tone.

I hear the cracks in his voice.

I feel Irina bury her head into the top of my hair. Her loud and muffled cries reverberate through my skull.

Despite being tightly embraced on both sides, all I feel is coldness.

Only my mom, or kayano, or korosensei could warm my aching soul.

"Why…" I ask hysterically. I feel Karasuma tighten his hold on me in response. My arms fall limply to my sides.

"Why did this all happen? The pain… I can't… I can't breathe." I feel dizzy. The panic is overwhelming, brutal, suffocating. The arms around me suddenly make me feel claustrophobic. I try to quicken my breathing, but it's not helping. The oxygen isn't reaching my lungs. Help. Somebody!

"Help… please… Karasuma sensei… Irina sensei… I can't breathe! Take this pain away from me!" I choke out, squirming between their arms and clutching at my chest.

"Nagisa!" Karasuma shouts.

He releases me and kneels down in front of me.

I can't see him. I can't breathe. I can't-

"NAGISA!" He shouts, shaking me and forcing me to look right at him.

"Sensei… I'm gonna… I'm gonna die!" My eyes drift away from Karasuma's, over his shoulder.

To my mother's corpse, still laying in the kitchen. She's looking right at me. I shut my eyes

"Kasan… no...:"

"Nagisa, look at me."

"K-kasan…" I choke out, my eyes trembling in their sockets trying to push out more tears..

"LOOK at me!" Karasuma

I look at him.

"Take a deep breath, Nagisa" He orders me.

I try to obey. I open my mouth. But my lungs fail to inflate.

"I can't!"

"YES you can. You've been doing it every second of your life, it's easy. You're just having a panic attack, you're hyperventilating, calm down. Watch me" He says reassuringly. I stare at him hopefully, as if in a trance. The edge of my vision starts to blacken.

Karasuma takes a very loud and deliberate breath. My lungs burn in envy.

Then he exhales slowly.

And he does it again.

Finally, I remember how to breathe.

I take a breath. It's short and shaky, but it clears the darkness from my vision. My lungs tremble from the deprivation.

"That's it, Nagisa, just… breathe" I hear Irina say from behind me, and I feel her place a hand soothingly on my back.

I take another breath, deeper and more accommodating to my lungs.

I crumple to my knees.

My palms are sweaty. My eyes are heavy. I haven't felt this drained...in forever.

 **Go to sleep, Nagisa…** the malevolent voice spits out.

 **You've earned a bit of… reprieve… from this nightmare.**

I fall forward, face planting into Karasuma's chest. He catches me.

"Nagisa!" I hear 3 voices cry out. But they sound so muffled, as if I'm underwater.

" _Go to sleep Na-gi-sa chan…"_ I hear a familiar, maternal voice murmur.

Mom…

" _Shhh… just keep your eyes closed, and let yourself drift away into oblivion…"_

I exhale slowly. I feel my body being shaken, but my mind has already detached itself from my corporeal being. Goodnight… kasan… kayano-chan…. korosensei…

.

.

.

 **POV Karma.**

What the fuck just happened. I stare at my best friend, unconscious in my sensei's arms, after displaying the most poignant fit of grief I've ever witnessed. I take my balled fist out of my mouth, that I had been biting down on to suppress my sadness. I stare at the deep marks my teeth have left. I can't hold it any more.

With a final shudder of concession, my self control finally caves in as I begin to weep quietly.

Any sounds of distress I might be making are wildly drowned out by Irina's blubbering.

"I'll bring him to bed…" Karasuma says detachedly as he walks towards the hallway and flicks the light off. Though the reflection of the moonlight off his moist eyes betrays his phlegmatic demeanour. It at least makes me feel a bit better about the release of my own tear drops.

Despite it being only 7:10, I'm so… so tired right now. Drained, is a better word. And not just physically tired.

Emotionally tired.

Tired of reality.

Tired of the world around me.

I hear Karasuma's heavy footsteps come to a stop.

"Karma."

"Hai…"

"Are you okay?"

I take a moment to control my breathing.

"Hai."

A moment of silence. I don't hear his footsteps.

I clench my eyes shut. Please. Please just leave. I can't keep this up much longer. If you make me speak again, I'm sure to fold.

Finally, after a seemingly immeasurable amount of time, I hear him drift away up the stairs.

Irina follows Karasuma up the stairs, placing a delicate hand on my shoulder supportively as she passes by.

And then I'm left alone, in the darkness.

Thank god. I slink over to the living room couch and bury my face into a pillow.

I scream into it.

Again and again, until my lungs burn from the strain of it all. I turn and place the side of my head against it, feeling the dampness from my tears on the side of my head.

I can't go up to the guest room. I can't bear to look at Nagisa again tonight.

I know I won't be able to bear waking up to him tomorrow morning.

I curl up on the couch and close my eyes, desperately inviting sleep to take hold and whisk me away from the demented nightmare that is unfortunately my reality.

I hear the sound of sirens, not too far away from the sound of it.

Fire Trucks.

I turn restlessly to face the back of the couch.

After the sirens, sleep evades me. I toss and turn for hours and hours.

I don't want to be apart of this world any longer right now.

Tomrrow is a new day.

But it is one with the promise of more sorrow. Maybe I'll just sleep through tomorrow as well, and see if two days' time will bring relief and happiness.

I laugh pessimistically at my delusional sense of humour.

The fire truck sirens, though long since passed, echo in my mind.

Yep. Tomorrow will surely bring more despair.

 **A/N: o_O Nagisa, you okay? Hope you enjoyed, I tried my hardest to convey the extent of Nagisa's grief and instability, so i hope it came out well. Next chapter: More sadness! (Maybe) more death! And of course, the continual spiral into darkness for our protagonists!**


	15. Chapter 15

**A Darker Path**

TheReaperCometh

Chapter 14

" **A Simple Miscommunication"**

 **A/N: I'm just gonna slap a quick little warning on this chapter for dark themes and somewhat disturbing content. But you've made it this far, so I'm sure you'll be fine :). Write a review to tell me how you like it, don't leave me hanging!**

 **POV Nagisa**

 **.**

 **.**

 **.**

I had woken up immediately after hearing an armada of firetrucks roar down the street.

For some reason it had put me on edge, and I've been tossing and turning for hours now.

Trying desperately to ignore the voices.

To ignore the darkness.

And resist the urge. The wanton desire for the spill of blood. Anyone's blood.

But to no avail.

Because every dark corner I look into, I see Takaoka's twisted face, his brutish face slathered with my mother's blood.

Everytime I look at a light in seek of asylum, I see Kayano's bright face.

And every time I close my eyes to escape it all, I only see my mother and korosensei.

No matter what I do. I can't escape this pain. I keep thinking back to a wise paradox I once heard:

Sometimes darkness can show you the light. There's always light at the end of the tunnel.

Unless there's a cave in, I add pessimistically.

I glance out the window at the radiant moon. Its mesmerizing glint reminds me of a drawn blade, and I find comfort in the fact that it's glimmer is clear, untainted by blood.

 **Blades are meant to be tinted red, for that is their purpose. What is a knife for, if not to cut, stab, and pierce?**

I clench my eyes and bury my face in my pillow.

And then there's the voice. This unshakeable parasite in the back of my mind. The fact that such a maliciously sentient voice in the back of my head exists, which seems completely independent from my conscience, speaks volumes to just how far I've careened down the rabbit hole.

 **Nagisa… you think blood needs to be spilled correct? And that you don't care who's?**

It whispers enticingly. An urge within me grows with every word it utters.

I'm not sure what terrifies me more; the fact that I am solely responsible for the conception of this voice, the fact that I'm having full blown inner conversations with it… with MYSELF… or the fact that I'm beginning to take comfort in its presence now.

If I don't hear it out, it never leaves and I'm in desperate need of sleep to detach myself from this inhospitable reality.

 _Yes, that's right._ I whisper back to it.

 **Anyone's?**

I reflect skeptically. _Well, not anyone, obviously._

 **Of course, no need to worry, I would never suggest you do something ridiculous or heinous. I only wish to heal you.**

 _Then what are you saying? Takaoka hasn't been found yet. I can't spill his blood._

 **You wish to maim the one responsible for the death of your teacher, your mother, and your girlfriend?**

I don't like where this is going. Its tone is curious yet confident, and this line of questioning is moreso a means to get to a point than it is to genuinely propose inquiries.

 _That's right. But like I said, Takaoka isn't around right-_

 **You know he's not the exclusive culprit. There is another…**

A pit forms in my stomach. A knot of fright, curiosity, and excitement. But why? Part of me knows what the voice is getting to, but my conscience self refuses to acknowledge it.

I don't respond to the voice. The only sound is the ringing tinnitus in my ears as I anxiously await for it to continue. The knot is tightening with each second.

I wouldn't even categorize the voice as dark anymore. It's the only thing that can distract me from my anguish.

 **You, Nagisa. You are also responsible.**

The knot unravels with a swift and brutal yank.

But I don't even flinch. Because like I said, part of me already knew what it would say.

The beating of my heart becomes abundantly clearer in that moment.

 **It was you who suggested that your class go to rescue Korosensei that night.**

 _I know._

 **Takaoka only attacked your friends because of his deeply seeded hatred for you, born from the scars, both physical and mental, that you so mercilessly inflicted upon him.**

A shiver of… excitement? It courses through my whole body, and I convulse. A panic shoots through me. Why am I feeling this? Excitement is the last emotion I want to harbor within me at this moment.

 **Your mother was only killed because of her relation to you. If she had been anyone else's mother, she would undoubtedly still be alive.**

 _I… I know._

 **Well then you deserve to be punished. We deserve to be punished, wouldn't you say?**

Another shudder of excitement passes through me at the voice's enigmatic suggestions. What is wrong with me? Imagery of myself flow through my mind.

Of guns shooting me.

Of baseball bats, bashing my skull in.

Of knives, piercing my flesh.

What an unhealthy rush of excitement elicited by this imagery.

Then my senses kick in again

 _I g-guess I deserve some kind of punishment. But It wasn't my fault! I didn't intend for anything to happen to anyone! I just wanted to save my teacher…_

 **Unintentional or not, you played an intrinsic role in the demise of three of your most precious people.**

 _And I should be punished for it…_

I can just picture the voice grinning, despite not having a face with which I can associate it with.

 **An eye for an eye…**

I jump out of bed, as stealthy as a ninja. The floorboards make no utterance.

 **Tooth for a tooth…**

I walk over to my door and creep into the halls, down the stairs and into the kitchen, shooting only a fleeting glance at Karma's sleeping form before my gaze falls admiringly on the collection of kitchen knives.

 **Blood for blood…**

The moon becomes covered by clouds, and the room is plunged into darkness. It's as if the cosmos themselves are covering their eyes.

Yet the knives still glisten in my vision.

Cloaked in darkness, inside and out, I walk over to the knives with hushed footsteps.

It's almost pitch black, so I run my finger over the blade of each knife.

The straight one?

The curved one?

The dull one?

Or maybe the jagged one?

 **The longest one would be best…**

The voice offers. I seize it hungrily, brandishing it from its rack. A tingle washes down my back as the satisfying sound of a blade being drawn slowly from its sheath echos through the darkness. I fumble with the handle as I'm visibly trembling. The blade slips and slices my index finger. I gasp in surprise as I can feel my warm blood drip out of my fingertip, coursing playfully down the length of my digit. That felt… strange.

 **Just remember… we deserve this.**

I feel the voice creep back into the recesses of my mind.

I clutch the knife close to my chest and sneak into the bathroom on the first floor. I close the door silently behind me and press my back against it. I anxiously flick on the lights and stare at my newly lacerated flesh.

My blood starts to drip on the floor. Without thinking, I pop my finger in my mouth. The metallic taste stimulates my taste buds. I begin to salivate.

I walk up to the sink and look in the mirror, removing my hand from my mouth.

The tangled nest that is my hair.

The anxious sweat glistening on my soft complexion.

And my eyes.

I can hardly recognize them as my own.

A foreign, voracious glare that stares back at me.

The unfamiliarity of these eyes confounds me, excites me, and terrifies me at the same time.

But If I look deep enough into the swirling pools, I can still recognize these eyes as my own.

Because they say the eyes are the windows to a person's soul.

And I can see my soul, its unsightly form, twisted and brimming with culpability that must be expunged.

I look down at the knife, and raise it to my throat, pressing its flat face against my adam's apple.

A throat similar to Takaoka's. With a jugular like Takaoka's, just beneath the surface. With warm blood, just as corrupt, coursing through it.

I tilt the blade so the sharp end now presses into my neck. I get an exhilarating headrush.

I stare myself in the eyes through the mirror, unblinking, awaiting the metal to pierce my flesh.

To exonerate me from my guilt and sadness.

This is the only way.

I wait.

And wait.

I realize I'm holding my breath.

My hand is trembling, unable to retract or do the deed, as my instinct for survival and fear screams against my guilt-fueled situation.

My heart beats faster.

 **Do it.**

My new friend whispers.

I can't bring myself to breathe.

 **Do it.**

I gulp, the dramatic lurch of my adam apple causes it to scrape against the knife. Looking in the mirror, eyeing my throat, I see very small trickle of blood drip tantalizingly down the length of my neck. Like a crimson snake, it slithers down under the collar of my shirt, and I can feel its trail continue down my chest.

I exhale suddenly, and the kitchen knife clatters out of my hand into the basin of the sink, a small red stain marring its lustrous tip.

"What the fuck am I doing..?"

My hands are trembling. I crumble down to the floor and rest my chin against the countertop, taking quick, shaky breaths.

What the hell is wrong with me? I just… I just….

I run my quivering hands through my hair. My eyes sting with the appearance of new tears.

Are my tear ducts not dried out by now? I think bitterly.

The seriousness of what just happened begins to sink in.

I almost… I can't believe I almost fucking…

 **Ended it all? Killed yourself?**

The voice offers innocently.

I didn't want to finish that thought. I pull away from the counter and crumple unceremoniously against the wall, hugging my legs to my chest as I bury my head in my knees.

 **Don't be ridiculous, you wouldn't have actually done it to a fatal point. The punishment still needs to be executed. However. Don't be weak. Haven't we had enough of crying?**

 **It's time for vengeance. For blood. For assassination. But before we can spill anyone else's blood, we must spill our own: for we are just as guilty as the rest. How can we justify the persecution of those who have harmed us when we ourselves have yet to face judgement for our own sins?**

My mind is racing with regret and shame.

 _N-NO. I don't deserve this! What the hell am I doing?_

 **Don't be foolish, you know you are to blame. Don't allow your fear of pain to blind you from the truth. You deserve to be punished, and sooner or later you'll realize it. Only then will you be able to move forward and heal, Nagisa…**

It trails off, and I feel it disappear in my twisted mind, marking the end of my penance.

Leaving me feeling ashamed and alone.

I reluctantly grab the knife and sneak back into the kitchen, returning the knife to its proper place.

I hurriedly leave the kitchen, wanting to leave this whole night behind me.

I run back to my bedroom, bounding up the stairs with complete disregard to the noise I make. I just want to put as much distance between me and that knife as possible.

I eye my bed bitterly, before curling up in a ball on the floor next to it.

I don't deserve comfort.

Under the watchful eye of the now exposed moon, its light cascading over me accusingly as if to shame me for my attempted self harm, I cry myself to sleep.

"Sumimasen… mother… Kayano… Korosensei…"

Who'd have thought, that the hand which brought me closer to death than any other would have been my own?

 **.**

 **.**

 **.**

 **POV Karasuma**

Without even opening my eyes, I instinctively reach over and hit the snooze button on my alarm. Wait a minute. It wasn't even beeping. I haven't woken up before my alarm in ages, 6:00 a.m having been my internally programmed wake up time for years. I open my eyes groggily and drift them lazily over towards the glowing clock. My eyelids feel unusually heavy. Through my sleepy vision, I can't read the numbers. I start to sit up, and become aware of a weight on my chest. I rub my eyes and look down to see the sleeping face of Irina.

Now I've woken up to some wild things.

I've woken up to the sound of gunshots.

I've woken up next to dead bodies.

I've even woken up before, chained to a wall in a torture chamber after being captured during one of my first missions with George that went awry.

But never in my life, has anything come close to startling me upon wake up as much as seeing Irina sleeping on top of me.

What do I do? Wake her up? Let her sleep? What time is it?

I look over at the clock. 7:30?! I haven't slept this late for as long as I can remember.

Before I can think of what to do in my current predicament, my phone screen lights up in the corner of my eye.

I pick it up and look at the most recent notification. Just a system update notification. I begin looking at all the other notifications that came before it

(5) missed calls. (5) new messages. 6 text messages. The first call came at 12:58 a.m, and the last came at 3:43.

All of them from the same number, which looks vaguely familiar.

I begin scrolling through the texts, hoping the context of the messages will reveal who the sender is.

"Hello?" (1:00 a.m)

"Is this Karasuma, teacher for class 3-E at Kunugigaoka highschool? What the fuck happened tonight?!" (1:01 a.m)

"Hello?! What happened to my wife! Is she really dead?! Answer me! If your message was all just a prank, I'll kill you" (1:02 a.m)

" Is… is my son Nagisa okay? Please tell me he's okay!" (1:04 a.m)

By blood freezes. Shit, This is Nagisa's father.

I stop reading the texts and move onto the messages he left.

First message.

It starts playing, and the voice that comes through is that of a panicking, hysterical man. It's loud, and Irina practically jumps off of me, emerging from the covers and propping herself up on my chest with an elbow. Thankfully, she has some clothes on.

"What on earth-" She starts in a groggy voice, before I cut her off, motioning emphatically to the phone.

" _H-hello? This is Nagisa's father, I just got a call from one of your "coworkers" to call you as soon as I could… He relayed a message for you? I-I didn't get his name, but he told me some pretty fucked up shit happened? I-it's not true, right? It's all a misunderstanding? H-Hiromi is dead?! How?! Where's Nagisa? Where's my son?! I-if anything happened to him…."_

"End of message. four, new messages. Playing next message:" the automated voice of my phone churns out in complete disparity with the emotional voice which just played.

Irina looks at me in shock, but before she can even open her mouth, Nagisa's overwrought father blares through. But what did he mean? My coworker? I called him personally, what is he talking about? The next call was 45 minutes later at 1:50.

" _H-hello? Oh...oh god, you weren't lying… Hiromi's actually dead! I just went to our house to see her… I didn't believe you. F-fucking blood… everywhere."_ I grimace as I hear the distinguishable sound of gagging followed by throwing up.

" _O-oh god. Where's Nagisa?! Is he safe?! Please please please, fucking call me back and let me know. Is he at the hospital?! Does he know what happened to Hiromi?! Oh god… fuck fuck fuck! I'm heading to the hospital now."_

"End of message. three, new messages. Playing, next message:" A horrible feeling grows in my stomach. This poor man, I wish I could've picked up the phone. Too bad I happened to turn my phone off last night by 11 p.m. This call came at at 2:25

"God dammit! Where is Nagisa you bastard?! I'm at the hospital and I've asked every fucking nurse or doctor I could find; Nagisa's not here! Fuck, where is he… and why aren't you calling back?!" A long pause of silence. His tone has become much more hostile and angry - and rightfully so.

"... He's dead too, isn't he? I-I heard on the news, the students from his class were attacked on the mountain today - by a fucking alien?! A-and he was with them… Oh god he's dead too isn't he… Nagisa… Hiromi… I'm sorry… I'm s-so sorry…" The last ten seconds of this message was of him bawling uncontrollably. Crestfallen, and hopeless sobs. I look to Irina and see that her eyes are damp with tears. This doesn't make sense though. I had called him, and told him Nagisa was still alive and with me. Did he not listen to my message? Did he just forget about it in his hysteria?

"End of message. Two new messages. Playing, new message:"

"Hello? I don't know who your are mister… Karasuma. I believe you called the wrong number earlier today. My name is Shigura, and I don't know who Nagisa and Hiromi Shiota are. and I mean, um, I don't even have a wife, hehe… so, um, I don't know who you were trying to convey your tragic news to, but you got the wrong number man. You have my condolences, goodnight."

"End of message. 1, new message. Playing, new me-" I shut off my phone, silencing the answering machine service.

Irina looks at me in horror.

"You dialed the wrong number? How could you do that?" She cries out.

"No I didn't, I don't know who this Shigura is but I know I called Nagisa's father yesterday."

"Well obviously you didn't, because you called this Shigura guy by accident instead! You probably mistyped a couple numbers. Looking at both numbers only have a couple different digits so you must have-"

"No, Irina, I wouldn't make such a dumb mistake" I refute adamantly. I scroll to my phone app and look at recent activity. Irina leans in against me to also get a look at my phone screen.

And all my confidence melts away.

Because yesterday afternoon, it shows that I had made a call to Shigura's number, not Nagisa's father.

"Erm… no, that's not possible… I KNOW I called his dad…" then I remember. The number was written down on a piece of paper. It should still be in my suit's pocket. I nudge Irina off of me and jump out of bed and start rummaging through the pile of yesterday's clothes at the foot of the bed. I hadn't bothered to launder or fold it last night. Sure enough, in the lapel pocket I find a small folded piece of paper. I unfold it and hold it next my phone.

It matches Shigura's number.

"What the hell..?" I mutter half to myself, half to Irina. She sits up earnestly in bed.

"Karasuma?"

"I was given the wrong number! This is Shigura's number. The person who gave me this number gave me the wrong one!" I cry out, angrily crumpling the piece of paper.

'What? You… you don't think it was intentional, do you?"

"Maybe, but… what would someone gain from this? What's the motive?

Irina cocks her head.

"Well… who gave you the note?"

"It was… It was…" I try wracking my brain for an answer. Why can't I remember? I can vaguely picture a face…

"Karasuma?" Irina pursues.

'I… don't remember who, I don't know him and never got a name. He just came up to me at the hospital and told me he was a good friend of Nagisa's father from work, and came here out of concern. He told me maybe I should call him and let him know what was happening… he said he had already tried, couldn't get a hold of him, and couldn't stay at the hospital for long. He was a pretty average joe type guy, so I don't remember him well. He just gave me this slip of paper and then told me he had to go before I could ask him anything. I'm sure if I saw him, I'd recognize him…" I add doubtfully at the end.

Irina looks at me… dumbfoundedly?

"What?" I ask.

"Baka" she states plainly and petulantly.

"What?"

"A guy as shady as that didn't raise any red flags for you? I know you can sometimes be pretty clueless, but really, Karasuma"

"What do you mean" I spit out, sounding a bit more bitter than I had intended to.

" "A friend from work", and he "had to leave quickly" before you could question him. And he just somehow knew that you were class 3-E's teacher? The whole thing reeks of suspiciousness. And by the way, when did this guy even meet up with you? You were with us most of the time."

"I bumped into him at the reception desk when I first got there, before we bumped into you"

I mutter distastefully, as I wonder how I could've been so accepting of that guy.

Irina pouts.

"Okay, when did you call him though? Because when I had spoken to you outside the boys room some 15 minutes later after you supposedly bumped into Mr. Suspicious, you had already called that number."

"I took a moment to call him briefly and left a message while we were in the girl's room. It was a generic, automated answering machine and didn't allude to the identity of the number, so I couldn't tell it wasn't Nagisa's father. It only took about thirty seconds, so you probably didn't notice or you were talking with the students"

"Seriously, I thought you were just making a boring work related call or something… I turn my back on you for 30 seconds and you find a way to make a real mess of things"

An awkward silence falls over us as we both mull over this strange situation.

"Nevertheless, we should listen to the last message" She adds.

Oh right. I had almost forgotten there was still another.

I sit back on the bed and go back to my answering machine.

"You have, one, new message. Playing, new message:"

"*Krzzzzt*,' A blast of static screeches out, causing Irina and I to both recoil away from the phone briefly.

" They're dead… aren't they. That's why you haven't called me back, right? You can't bring yourself to tell me, right? I-I don't blame you. After all, none of this is really your fault, right? It's all my fault, isn't it? I wasn't there for them… I neglected Nagisa and his mother for most of the boy's life. And now they're gone…. Forever… I failed, as a husband, as a father, and a man...I- I don't think I can go on living anymore. I need to be with them. I need to see them right now. To make amends. Nagisa… Hiromi… forgive me… we'll be together soon."

"End of message. No new messages. To delete a message, press-" The phone slips out of my hand and falls on the bed.

I look to Irina, who has a mortified expression on her face.

"You don't think he…" she starts in a shaky tone.

We'll be together soon…

"Shit." I get up off the bed and throw on a shirt.

I dial the number and listen it ring with forced hope. Please answer.

"Wait where are you going?!" Irina cries out as I head towards the door, she scrambles out of bed, in nothing but a bra and panties. I blush and look away.

No answer on the phone. I call him again.

I cough to clear my throat.

"I'm going to Nagisa's father's apartment" I state plainly.

"You knew where he lives this whole time?"

"Of course I do."

"Then why didn't you go tell him about the situation in person, instead of trying to contact him via a shady number from a sketchy stranger?"

I turn to her and frown, seeing her put on one of my hoodies.

"It isn't close. With how hectic it's been, do you really think I've had time to take any detours? Besides, I couldn't bring myself to abandon my students again.'

"I guess not… in any case, I'm going with you!" She cries determinedly.

"He lives almost an hour away" I warn her.

"Yeah, and?"

I sigh in resignation. From the glare in her eyes, and the stance of her body, despite how silly she looks wearing my large hoodie, I can tell she really wants to come.

"Fine, let's go for a ride. We're leaving now"

She nods victoriously and runs after me as I walk out of the room.

Nagisa's door is still closed and I can hear soft snoring coming from the other side.

"Aw, how adorable…" I hear Irina whisper softly behind me. I look back, and see Irina looking fondly into Nagisa's room.

"Irina, let's go, come on. Quit watching him sleep, that's weird"

"He's like a little cat, curled up in a ball… on the floor though?. His hair is even undone… He has really beautiful hair..." she says with an envious tone, while idly stroking a strand of her own hair.

"That's all very fascinating, Irina, now let's go" I say sarcastically and dryly.

She quietly shuts the door to Nagisa's room and tip-toes after me. I grab the car keys off the kitchen table, carefully making sure not to wake the red haired boy slumbering on the couch.

I return to the entrance hallway, and wave the keys with a quiet jingle to let a shivering Irina know I'm ready to go. I reach into my closet and pick out my warmest jacket, offering it to her. She accepts it with a gracious nod and the two of us exit the house.

 **.**

 **.**

 **.**

 **45 minutes later.**

The car ride was silent, neither of us dared to utter a word, lest it shatter the fragile facade of hope. I was going well over the speed limit the entire ride, a decisio which went unobjected by Irina. I pull up to his apartment's parking lot and park hastily in the first open spot I see.

The two of us hop out and run inside.

"Follow me" I call back to Irina, as I race up the first flight of stairs.

"Shouldn't we ask which room he lives in?" She questions.

"I already know his number. He's on the fourth floor"

"Creep…" I hear Irina mutter

We've reached the 4th floor.

Number 1,3,5,7…

13, here we are.

Before Irina even catches up to me, I knock on the door forcefully.

"Mr. Shiota? It's Karasuma from kunugigaoka, open up. I have news of your son, he's alive ane well!"

Sort of, I add internally.

No response.

Irina comes to a stop next to me.

I knock again.

"Mr Shiota?"

Silence.

I look at Irina, who nods at me with conviction.

"I'm coming in" I announce. I try the door, but of course its locked. I knock on the wooden door experimentally one more time. The door doesn't seem exceptionally sturdy. And the lock seems average.

"Back up" I tell Irina.

I back up, and after taking a short wind up step forward, I thrust my leg forward and kick the door down. The door crashes inwards with little resistance, almost coming off its hinges

The silence following the crash of the door is palpable. I take a tentative step inwards.

"Mr Shiota?"

 **Creak.**

What was that? I hold a hand out to tell Irina to stop moving.

 **Creak.**

"You hear that?" I ask.

Irina nods, confirming my fears.

 **Creak.** The sound is happening at regular intervals. I think I know what's making it, I think with a grimace.

I look around. Open concept living room and kitchen. Small living area, without a lot of furniture or decorations. The man likes to live abstemiously, I can respect that. I take a step towards a hallway with an open doorway. I can't see into the room from her.

 **Creak.**

Louder this time

I take a couple more steps closer to the open door. In one more step, I'll be standing in the middle of the doorway. Irina is glued to my arm.

 **Creak.**

I take a step forward and grimace.

And my worst fear is confirme. Irina steps next to me and immediately throw a hand over her mouth just in time to muffle a scream. I feel her stagger back, and had she not been clinging to my arm she might have fallen down.

 **Creak.**

I stare distastefully at the scene before me.

The kicked over chair lying dejectedly on the floor, beneath a slowly swinging corpse tied to a ceiling fan.

 **Creak.**

A husk that once was Nagisa's father.

I touch his hand. Cold, so cold. From the stiffness in his fingers and the pallor of his skin, he's been dead for a while. He probably hanged himself very shortly after his last phone call to me.

He must have thrashed quite a bit for him to still be swinging like this after about 5 hours, I realize morbidly.

I look back to Irina, crumpled to the floor in the doorway, not daring to come in. She's staring blankly at the suicide scene with disdain.

I look around the room, and something in the mirror on the wall behind the body catches my eye.

 **Creak.**

I reach behind Nagisa's father and tear a note off his back. My eyes widen as I read over the singular sentence, written crudely in red ink.

"You really left him hanging last night, didn't you, Karasuma-kun?"


	16. Chapter 16

**A Darker path**

 **TheReaperCometh**

 **A/N apologies for late update, no viable excuse this time lul. It just took me a while to write this chapter the way I wanted it to turn out, so I hope you enjoy.**

 **Chapter 15**

" **The First Step"**

 **POV Karma**

 **.**

 **.**

 **.**

Aureate sunlight filters through the living room window and tickles at my eyelids. My eyes crack open in a lofty haze. I yawn. I still feel exhausted, but now that I've joined reality I might as well stay. I smack my lips a few times, and catch a taste of the fetid grime coating the inside of my mouth. I haven't brushed my teeth for over 24 hours, I realize in disgust. I get up and stagger to the first floor bathroom. A few steps away from the bathroom, I notice something at my feet.

Three conspicuous droplets of blood stain the tile floor, inches away from my bare foot. I crouch down to better examine the curious marks. I tentatively run a finger over them. Based on its dark color and dryness, It's been here at least a couple hours. My mind whirs trying to figure out where it came from. I sigh.

I really don't care. With all the shit we just went through I wouldn't be surprised if a little blood managed to follow us home.

Home? I chuckle at the foreign word, at how natural it flowed from my tongue in reference to Karasuma's home, after spending just one miserable night here.

I guess that just goes to show what I think of my actual home. Although I guess a more appropriate term for it would simply be 'house'. I get up on tired legs and stumble into the bathroom. I flick on the lights.

My eyes immediately gravitate to the juxtaposing flash of red tarnishing the porcelain sink.

It's about the same color as the blood in the hall, meaning it was likely spilled around the same time.

I perfunctorily open the mirror cabinet, having one similar to it at my house where I store my toothbrush. But of course, my toothbrush isn't here.

I sigh and resort to the poor man's improvisation. I wet my mouth and wash my hands, before squeezing a finger-tip's worth of toothpaste onto my index finger. With it, I rub my teeth, smearing the paste barbarically over my teeth with my finger.

I turn the tap on and lower my head, lapping up a mouthful of water before swishing it around my mouth in an attempt to get the toothpaste to foam and clean my tongue. I regard the spots of blood in the basin below with enmity. Something about it just unsettles me, and not just because of its indeterminate origin. My expanded cheeks grow sore from holding in a mouthful of the bubbling solution. I spit into the basin, purposely aiming for the red stains in an attempt to wash them away. The aquamarine foam washes ineffectively over the coagulated blood.

"Tsk" I grunt indignantly at the undeterred crimson eyesore. Something about it just really irks me. I grab a kleenex and after a few vigorous swipes, remove the blood from the porcelain. Feeling satisfied with the now pristine basin, I rinse my mouth out with another mouthful of water.

I smack my lips again, pleased with the absence of morning breath. It was a shoddy cleansing, but it got the job done.

As per usual, in order to fully revitalize myself in the morning, I cup both hands under the stream of water until they're filled with icy cold water, before leaning in and splashing it into my face. The freezing water hits my face like thousands of tiny needles, and I reactively inhale sharply. The weight of my eyelids is lifted and the haziness is cleared from my head. Without lifting my head up, so as to avoid dripping water everywhere, I reach to the side and grab the hand towel, bringing it to my face.

While patting my face dry, I hear the doorbell ring. I freeze, towel against face, listening to the echo of the doorbell reverberate around the house.

Should I answer it?

What if it's someone from Karasuma's work?

Or maybe someone from the hospital?

I hastily put the towel on the rack and speed walk to the front door, my heart beating at an inexplicably quick pace.

I can't see a figure through the frosted glass of Karasuma's door. I swing it open.

"Mornin'" I say to nobody

I stick my head outside and look around. Nobody in sight. Must've been some damn brats playing a prank or something. I take a step outside of the house to get a full view of the street to see if i can catch a glimpse of the little assholes-

Something crumples under my foot.

I lift my foot up reactively and glance down at the small folded piece of paper on the doormat.

I pick it up and unfold it.

I raise an eyebrow out of curiosity.

The fuck is this?

A rudimentary drawing of a large building on fire?

And based on the 'H' inscribed haphazardly atop the building, this is a... burning hospital?

Karasuma has some fucked up delinquents in his neighbourhood.

I flip the paper over to see if maybe I'm missing something.

Another weird drawing. It depicts another building, two stories high but definitely smaller than the hospital on the other side. this building isn't on fire, but has two fire trucks barreling past it with blaring alarms.

The house has a number on it which seems to have no correlation with anything, yet at the same time seems vaguely familiar.

At the bottom of the page, in nearly illegible red crayon, there's an ominous prevarication that sends a strange anxiety through my brain.

 **Why don't you go check the weather? The local forecast is… interesting.**

Disturbingly enough, despite its messy presentation, this isn't something a kid would write, without at least one spelling mistake.

Check the weather?

I glance around the street once more, and for some unknown reason my eyes travel to the side of Karasuma's house. Specifically, the house number, 45. I squint at the numbers, enthralled, trying to deduce why they look so familiar, like I've seen them recently.

My eyes widen.

I shoot my gaze back down to the crude backside of the note, at the two story building.

With the number 45 written on it.

Is this a drawing of Karasuma's house? I recall the sounds of passing firetrucks late last night. It must be. This is some paranormal shit.

 **The local forecast is...interesting.**

I back up slowly into the house and close the door, not taking my eyes off the sheet of paper for even a second. I finally tear my eyes away and crumple the paper, stuffing it into my pocket. I practically gallop back to the living room and fling myself on the couch, clutching the tv remote with a clammy hand.

The tv's 5 second boot up time feels like an eternity.

I turn to channel 7 with baited breath.

The screen shows a bird's eye view recording from a helicopter, of a large pile of rubble from a completely razed building. The ground surrounding the smouldering debris is an ashen grey, blanketed by a thick layer of soot. Charred black support beams jut out from the wreckage like desperate arms.

My eyes flutter down to the news banner as I turn the volume up to an audible level.

And part of me dies inside, before being swiftly reincarnated into a sickening hopelessness.

I clutch my chest, taut with the pain of immeasurable despair, growing with every word I read on the news banner

"Suspected act of terrorism"

"Massive explosion"

"Chemical fire"

"Burning for hours"

"No survivors"

.

.

.

 **POV Nagisa**

Blinding sunlight gnaws at my eyelids, beckoning me to the start of a new day. My eyes creek open slowly, as I squint resentfully at the obnoxious at scintillated window. The warmth it casts on my cheeks feels fake, as if falsified. Not feeling ready to face a new day, I stagger out of bed and close the blinds fully, before falling back down unceremoniously onto the bed, having expended all my energy.

Tsk. The light is still pouring through, eroding my sleepiness with its persistence to imbue me with a spark of energy. I rub my eyes, as the prospect of sleeping becomes less and less feasible with each passing second.

You win this time, sun. I get up and open the blinds again, and stare directly towards the sky. It takes a few seconds for my eyes to acclimate to the natural light, but they eventually do.

The sky is a royal blue, unencumbered by any opaque clouds, only dainty wisps of white here and there speckle the horizon.

I bask in the sunlight for a few minutes, eyes closed, trying to feel the warmth.

I sigh. I scratch at an itch on my hand, and startle at the strange feeling of coarse skin, so unlike my usual softness. I glance down worriedly, turning my hand face up to the sunlight to examine my finger. I wince at the sight of the laceration. Looking at it makes me squeamish. I can't bear to look at it anymore.

I turn back to face my room. My phone dings from the bedside table.

It's 8:30. Message from Karasuma.

"Stay at the house. Irina and I need to talk to you, we'll be home soon"

I can't help but smile. Straight to the point, no pleasantries, as expected of someone like him.

But where did they go? And whatever they need to tell me, it better be some good news.

I could really use something uplifting right now.

I place my phone on the bedside table, and as my arm moves a horrible scent is wafted at my nose.

Is that me?

Oh jeez, I really need to shower.

My heart all but leaps out of my chest as the doorbell rings from downstairs.

Who could be visiting at this time?

I slump onto my bed, my temporary good mood dissipating as quickly as it came.

Not my mother, that's for sure. I hear the patter of Karma's loud footsteps.

Thank god I don't have to answer the door.

I hone my ears in on the sounds downstairs, as I absentmindedly apply a stick of deodorant I had conveniently found in the bedside table. I hope Karasuma doesn't mind.

I hear the door open, and listen for the sound of voices.

I hold my breath.

Silence. More silence. I haven't heard the door close yet.

I exhale and fall on my back, staring up at the ceiling.

Eavesdropping is exhausting.

Another minute passes and I finally hear the door close, preceding the sound of Karma's quick footsteps across the hallway.

I wonder what that was about. I muster all my energy and sit up at the edge of my bed, my back to the window. The sunlight strikes my bare back with a surprisingly hot glare, as if pushing me out of bed.

Alright, alright, I'm going, I'm going, I grumble to the sun.

I get out and put the shirt on I was wearing last night, which I realize, as it passes over my head also had a foul odour.

I open the door and tiptoe out into the hallway. I hear the tv on, though I'm too far away to discern any words.

I walk down the stairs, and when I get halfway down, the living room comes into view and I freeze. The look on Karma's face is one of incredulity - in a good way or a bad way I can't tell.

I creep down the stairs, my eyes locked on Karma's face. For some reason, I have this strange feeling that disrupting him from his thoughts would be a bad idea.

My legs move stealthily on their own, carrying me to the living room.

I swallow, searching for my voice. I can't find it as I wordlessly move right behind Karma and look to the tv which has captivated one hundred percent of Karma's attention.

A barren wasteland is displayed on the screen. Just as I start clueing in on the reporter and the information banner at the bottom of the screen, a commercial break begins.

"K-karma?" I whisper out.

He turns around to face me, with a look in his eyes that has become all too common lately.

I'm tired of seeing them, tired of having them, tired of describing them.

"Karma, what's wrong? What were you watching"

He shakes his head,

'It's not fair Nagisa. It's just not fucking fair at all".

"What, what's not fair, Karma?"

A pit forms in my stomach. More bad news? Or is he just struggling with everything that's already happened. My eyes sting.

He continues to shake his head slowly/

I walk around the back of the couch and take a seat next to him, placing a hand on his shoulder supportively.

He shakes under my touch. I can't find any more words to say, as his composure frightens me. I've never seen Karma like this.

Suddenly, with a click of the button, he turns the tv off and tosses the remote on the coffee table before slumping back into the couch.

"Karma?"

I take my hand off Karma's shoulder and reach for the remote.

I gasp as Karma seizes my wrist with an iron grip.

Panic shoots through me, succeeded by a wave of relief as I realize thankfully it isn't the wrist with the finger I had cut.

"K-Karma, you're scaring me-"

"You don't want to turn the tv on…" He says with a surprisingly authoritative voice.

"W-why not?"

"Just trust me" He says while looking me directly in the eyes.

Just trust me. Yeah, those were the same words you said to me to deter me from seeing my mother's corpse, I think bitterly. Now I'm even more curious to see what you could possibly be trying to conceal from me this time.

We're locked in a staring contest.

He blinks first, and in that moment I see through his confident front .

"Let go of me Karma".

Surprisingly he obeys, staring absently at the living room floor while leaning against the armrest.

He shrugs unenthusiastically.

"Don't say I didn't warn you".

I reluctantly reach for the remote, keeping an eye on Karma while I do so. He makes no move, no further attempt to stop me.

I turn the tv back on with fortuitous timing, as the news channels ditty concludes.

"Welcome back, to channel 7 news, on the morning of last night's gruesome tragedy. We take you live, to the land upon which Kunugigaoka central hospital just hours ago before an alleged terrorist set the hospital ablaze with a chemical bomb."

The screen splits in two, introducing a new reporter standing in front of what I recognize to be the razed rubble I had caught a glimpse of from a bird's eye view before the commercial view.

"I would say good morning Tien, but it uh, doesn't appear to be such a morning" The original news anchor jokes distastefully.

"That's right Terry, I am here live in front of what used to be Kunugigaoka's central hospital, before a devastating fire started and engulfed this entire area in flames. Firefighter arrived on the scene just minutes after the explosion occurred, but it was sadly too late as there were no survivors." He pauses for a moment, stepping to the side with a grim expression on his face to allow the camera a full view of the debris.

" 16 firefighters arrived on scene and fought to contain the fire for 3 hours, barely succeeding. Because of the nature and intensity of the fire however, none of them were able to even attempt to enter the burning and quickly collapsing building. Very little is known as to why someone would commit a crime as heinous as burning down a hospital, but police investigations are already underway, but it's theorized that this incident may actually be in connection with the paranormal, extraterrestrial activity on the mountain two nights ago, as the students that had survived that night we lamentably inside this hospital last night. May their souls rest in peace".

"Thank you Tien, that's right, our thoughts and prayers go out to the victims of the fire, as well as all the victims' friends, family, and coworkers. Coming up next after a quick break, a conference with the Mayor and the captain of the police department, as they offer their condolences and hope to shed some light on our city's recent tragedies. I'm Terry Blight, and you're watching channel 7 news. Stay tuned".

I turn the tv off, submerging the room in complete silence.

I can't think. I can't even absorb what I just saw. What I just heard.

A cold wind passes through me and buffets my organs.

I can't even bring myself to blink. Or to breathe. I feel numb, like I'm not even in my own body right now.

And most terrifying of all, is that there aren't even any tears flowing

"I told you not to turn it on" Karma states in a dry, bitter tone, still staring at the floor.

His words barely register in my ringing ears.

I clench the remote as hard as I can and my knuckles start to hurt, as I close my eyes and focus on breathing. Images of class 3-E's students flood my mind.

Nakamura.

Isogai.

Sugino.

Okajima.

Terasaka.

Okuda.

All of them. All our time together. All our memories. Wiped out. Gone forever.

All meaningless now.

Why? Why did all of this happen? Why did any of this happen.

 **This world is full of despicable, heinous people. There's no rhyme or reason to their madness.**

The cold voice returns for the first time in a while.

 **The cancer is growing more and more each day, metastasizing quicker and quicker each day across society. Doesn't it make you angry, Nagisa? All your friends, except one, suffered painful deaths at the hands of a single psychopath? Doesn't it bother you, how easily life can be snuffed out?**

Yes. Yes it fucking does.

 **You wish it had never happened, right?**

Obviously.

 **You wish… you had killed Takaoka, don't you?**

It's the single biggest regret of my life right now.

 **Yes, indeed. If he had died that night, your friends wouldn't have been attacked on the mountain. They wouldn't have been admitted to the hospital. They wouldn't have burned alive last night.**

I choke back the lump forming in my throat.

 **So much pain and death could've been avoided if you had just killed one man… the cost of one man's life could've saved countless others, all of whom were precious to you.**

The voice pauses for a moment, and I wonder whether or not it's gone for now. It finally returns.

 **If the death of one sick fuck could've prevented so much bad, imagine what the deaths of countless Takaoka's would cause. so much loss could be prevented, the death of so much innocence would be prevented, wouldn't you agree?**

Yes…

 **Well then that leaves us with only one option, doesn't it? To protect future innocence and avenge you precious loved ones, you must take action yourself to snuff out the roots of tragedy before the seeds of hatred can bloom.**

My eyes widen.

 **Yes, you know it to be true. If you didn't, would be crying right now. But look! No tears flow from your ducts! Now, tell your friend of your idea. I'm sure he feels the same way.**

I turn to Karma confidently.

"Karma-kun"

I startle as I see everyone from E-class through the window behind Karma, all lined up on the road.

My confidence wavers momentarily. Is it really a good idea to set myself upon this road?

Suddenly a car barrels down the road, smashing through and dispersing the spirits of all my friends.

Gone.

 **Yes, they're gone. You've walked the moral high ground this entire time, and look where it got you. It's time to climb off your blissful high horse, and join reality Nagisa.**

I swallow my doubts and fill my voice with conviction.

"Karma kun".

He raises his head slowly and regards me skeptically. But I recognize a lively glimmer within his fiery irises.

 **The two of you can do great good in this world with your skills. Now take the first step down this dark path: and together, you two will purge the lands.**

"Karma. Let's become assassins".

 **.**

 **.**

 **.**

 **A/N: Now the real adventure begins :)**


	17. Chapter 17

**A Darker Path**

TheReaperCometh

 **A/N Ugh okay, so this was a painful experience. I had written this whole thing in one sitting a few days ago, and was waiting to post it on friday… but when I checked back on thursday to edit I realized, to my horror, that IT HADN'T SAVED :( so I had to rewrite the whole thing again. As a result, sorry for the late update, and the shortness, it was originally a bit longer :(. Enjoy, nonetheless XD**

 **Chapter 16**

" **Done with Sorrow"**

 **POV Karma**

 **.**

 **.**

 **.**

My breath hitches. I look to Nagisa in astonishment, his words having not registered in my brain. Reading my confused face, he repeats himself.

"Karma, let's become assassins together."

Ah… so that is what he said.

"W-what..?" I'm left feeling utterly taciturn by his words. And and not just from his sudden proclamation. More off putting than that, he's devoid of emotion right now. In fact, I feel a vehement bloodlust echoing from within me. So naturally, so passively. I doubt he's even aware: it isn't directed at me, it's just… there. All encompassing,growing, as if its intent is to cover the entire earth.

No, he's not aware. I squint my eyes in concentration, trying to think of what to say.

How can he be so calm right now? We just found out that all of our friends died in a horrible, fucking chemical fire. Dead, all of them. And there isn't a single tear of remorse trickling from the icy boy beside me. In fact, he looks more lively right now than he has in a long time. I'm about to lash out at him in anger, but intuitive as always, he speaks up before I can let my anger get the better of me.

"Karma, I don't know about you, but I'm just tired. I'm tired of of only rolling over and accepting each sucker punch that gets thrown our way. Truth be told, I want to cry right now - my eyes are literally shaking in their sockets right now, but I'm so sick of crying, I just can't. I feel so hollow, that no matter how much I want to, no matter how much I should, I just can't possibly draw anything out of me anymore. I've gone through more tragedy in the last 48 hours than most people do in their entire lives. My mother was brutally slain, my favorite teacher, the first person to really see me, was impaled right before our eyes, my dad is nowhere to be found, all our friends died in a horrible fire" he shakes his head dismayingly, taking a breath.

"Honestly, Karma… I just can't bring myself to be sad right now. My heart…" He trails off, choking on his words, with a nervous laugh and clenched fists. He looks away, biting down on his lower lip. And I expect to see him break down. But then he looks back to me, with a

" … has been ripped apart, crudely stitched together, and ripped apart again. I just can't… I can't afford to let myself grieve anymore, I'm not strong enough to endure any more sadness. This world is unfair Karma… we've witnessed just how messed up things can be firsthand. But we can make a difference. I know what I have to do, what WE have to do! I… I can't live in a world where things like this-" He snatches the tv remote and and turns it on. The live footage of the ashen hospital rubble soon appears on screen, waiting to be acknowledged like the most depressing elephant in any room. He eyes me wearily, as if waiting to see my reaction.

Well what the fuck does he want me to say to that?

I turn back to Nagisa, staring deep into those swirling eyes of his. Pools of mystery, always and forever, I think to myself as I smile. Nagisa's eyes widen ever so slightly, wondering where I might've found the ability to smirk.

"Do you mean what you say? Do you really want to become an assassin?" I ask him, searching every inch of his face for a dither in his resolve.

"Yeah. I do." He says in an unwavering voice. He means it.

Truth be told, the same thoughts had crossed my mind

"Well, that's good enough for me then, Nagisa-san. And who knows? It may even be fun" I add with my trademark smirk.

Nagisa's face widens in surprise, and then he smiles.

And I don't just mean a sad, meek smile. Or a weak, nervous chuckle, like usual lately.

A full blown, mouth open, teeth showing, beautiful smile coupled with a genuine laugh.

Something Nagisa hasn't displayed so rawly in so long.

The sheer elation on his face, I have no doubt in my mind that I made the right choice to agree to follow him down this path.

"Karma-kun!" He cries in relief, as tears of joy begin to trickle down his cheeks, to my astonishment. Had he been counting on my agreement that much? Was he really that worried that I would rebuke his choice? I smile.

"Jeez, and right after you said you were tired of crying, Nagi-"

My line gets cut off, as before I can react, Nagisa practically jumps on top of me, throwing his arms around me and burying his face against my chest. I awkwardly sit there, half-frozen, feeling warm and unsure of how to react.

"I know, I know… last time" He starts with a muffled voice.

He pushes off of me, wiping his "last time" tears away, and looks at me with a wide smile.

"Sorry, I just… I don't know, I was just so happy and-"

I cut him off.

"Dumbass, don't apologize for being happy for once in our depressing lives" I joke, and we both share a laugh. This, I had missed this these past few days.

"And besides, were you that worried that I might've said no? What did you expect, other than yes? 'No, Nagisa, I don't want to become an assassin with you. You know that my two least favorite things in the world are having to spend time with you, and violence. Violence is never the answer, thats the motto I live and breathe by, all life is precious. And really, you're my least favorite person in the whole world, sooo' " I finish sarcastically, eliciting another chuckle from Nagisa. I guess there's some truth to the saying two wrongs do make it right. Although in our case, I guess it's more like a clusterfuck of wrongs make a twisted right. I feel lighter and happier than I have in a while - and I'm sure Nagisa feels the same way, ironically enough. Maybe it's because we now have a concrete goal we can work towards: together.

Just then, we both jump as we hear the front door push open, and two sets of footsteps scramble in.

Nagisa and I both stand up and look to each other, undoubtedly wondering the same thing.

'Do we tell him?' I can practically hear Nagisa say. I shrug,

' I don't see how we can't. We need him, and he'd find out sooner or later anyway'.

Nagisa nods in understanding.

Yes. Yes we tell him.

 **.**

 **POV Karasuma.**

 **5 minutes earlier**

My house finally comes into view, marking the end of our ittler nightmare excursion. I sigh in relief, and look over at Irina, who's gazing quiescently out the window. She's been like this ever since we found the body.

I pull into the driveway and pull out my phone to see if I've gotten a message from the hospital or HQ.

A text from George. I inwardly shake my head and smile at the first word. George writes just like he my smile fades quickly after that. I sit there, hand on the key in the ignition, stunned, for so long that Irina looks over at me to see what's happening.

"Karasuma?"

My eyes read over the text over and over. It can't be. It just can't be.

"Oi Karasuma. It's me, George. I'm so sorry to 'ear what happened at the hospital last night. And the lil' bastard was too cowardly to face punishment, so he went down in flames too. I know even a tin man like you must be hurtin' right now, so feel free to talk to me if you need it, eh?I know what it's like to lose kids."

Irina, impatient and obviously worried from my expression, snatches the phone from my hand.

"What is this? Who's George? Karasuma? What the fuck is he talking about? Karasuma!"

I can't respond, dazed.

"No no no no no" Irina begins to panic, as she reaches out and fumbles with the radio, until finally finding the news station.

We listen to the mayor's depressing speech for less than thirty seconds before I turn it off.

I can't bear to listen to it anymore.

Irina's on the cusp of hyperventilating. She begins to cry so hard, my heart throbs with each individual sob. My head is pounding, I feel lightheaded. Irina unbuckles her seatbelt and throws open the car door, leaning outside desperately gasping for fresh air through her perpetual crying.

"N-no… it can't be… all of them… how… why…" she manages to sputter out, before being overwhelmed with tears once again.

I clench my fists.

I wasn't there for them again.

Over and over.

To my chagrin, but begrudging acceptance, a single tear rolls down my cheek. The first one I've shed in over a decade.

Now they're all gone.

I feel that darkness within me begin to swell, but my own screaming frustration drowns it out, pushing it away.

With a quick flick of my arm, I slam my left fist through the door's window, and listen to the crinkling of glass hitting the pavement. Shards cascade over my lap. I bring my fist back inside the car and quickly rip a shard of glass that had embedded itself into my knuckles.

How could this have happened?

How could I have let this happen?

Why the fuck would anyone do that? It couldn't have been Takaoka.

It doesn't matter why or how, though, anyway, I realize glumly.

The fault lies with me alone.

I failed them. All of them.

My mind goes numb, swirling in turmoil as I sit there hopelessly, listening to Irina's muffles wails as she cries into my shoulder.

 **NOT ALL OF THEM.** the voice within manages to get out over the chaos inside of my head.

My head bolts up. That's right. There's still Nagisa and Karma. They've probably heard the news by now too, I realize suddenly.

I have to be strong for them. I can't fall apart, and give into despair.

I absolutely cannot fail them. Their my last chance of salvation.

"Irina" I nudge her off my shoulder.

I grab both sides of her head and calmly press my forehead against her own.

She gasps for a moment, and her crying calms down a little.

"Irina" I say again soothingly. "We have to be strong right now. For Nagisa and Karma. We can't fall apart, understood?"

She nods, and wipes the mucus away from under her nose.

I let her go and pull away, and for another minute we sit there, as Irina struggles to regain her composure and quell her flow of tears.

Finally, she taps me on the shoulder to tell me she's ok, and we both exit the vehicle and race inside the house. I don't even bother taking my shoes off.

"Nagisa! Karma!" I shout out.

I race to the living room, to see if Karma is still there. "Karma-"

I stop mid sentence, as both boys are standing up side by side, facing me. I glance behind them at the ghastly tv, on the news channel, now showing the mayor giving a speech in central park.

The same thing Irina and I had tuned in to on the radio moments ago.

So they know. Then why are they so calm?

"Sensei" Nagisa says in a composed voice.

I look to him in shock, immediately recognizing a strong determination within his eyes. I glance to Karma, and see the same thing within his gaze as well.

Whatever they're about to say, it's going to be extremely important. A decision of immeasurable value and consequence.

Whatever it may be, I'll support him wholeheartedly to the best of my abilities. I can't fail again.


	18. Chapter 18

**A Darker Path**

TheReaperCometh

 **A/N: Not much to say here, enjoy :p**

 **POV Karasuma**

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"Well that was unexpected, wasn't it?" Irina says rhetorically, after taking a long sip of the wine she had brought over the night before.

She reaches over the table and passes the bottle to me. I take a big swig, and notice the bottle is nearly empty. That's okay, I've still got a copious amount of alcohol in the cellar, which I've already accepted that we will be drinking. I shoot a glance at the clock and see it's only 1:00 p.m. I feel like a veritable alcoholic.

"You can say that again… as if shit hadn't hit the fan enough already, now I have to worry about those two trying to become killers" I say as I pass the bottle back to her. I said killers on purpose, rather than assassins, to emphasize my disdain for such a career. Perhaps a little, insensitive, given that Irina is an assassin as well.

She laughs in response. "And after all you and korosensei did to dissuade them from pursuing such a career choice" she concludes, tilting her head back to drink the last bit of wine.

"Ironic, isn't it?" I add bitterly. A long silence ensues, neither of us certain how to pick up the conversation.

After making their stupefying declaration of wanting to become assassins, the two of them took off to "go train", as they put it, at the school. I felt a mix of confusion, frustration, understanding, and disappointment at their proclamation, and wasn't able to say any words before they left. I had been utterly speechless.

And why they would want to return to the school, is beyond me. Just thinking about that place fills me with a wave of painful nostalgia, regret, and failure. And I find it hard to believe that being there would offer any improvement to either of their emotional state.

"Irina, what the hell should I do? As if I wasn't already uncertain enough before I woke up this morning..." I mutter hopelessly.

Irina looks at me thoughtfully, deep in thought.

"I think you have a lot of things you need to worry about clearing up right now before you worry about the future"

I regard her with a mopey expression.

"Things like living arrangements? Nagisa's father? And if you have any issues with their… new "career" choice, then you better voice your opinion soon or it'll be too late".

"Oh, right… those things" I answer monotonously. Irina raises an eyebrow at my lackluster response. Before she can say anything more, I quickly get up from my chair.

"I'm going to get another bottle…" I mutter as I head to the cellar. I feel Irina's scrutinizing gaze on my back as I turn around and head to the basement.

I just want a few minutes alone, free from Irina's distracting presence to mull things over.

If I have any issues with them becoming assassins, I should say so now... do I, though?

I know I should, but the strange thing is… I don't, really. They seem so adamant about it… and I can't help but think to myself that if it were me in their position at the same age, who knows how my path on life might've diverged differently from where and who I am today? I might've made the same choice that they made this morning.

And besides, I already made a vow to myself that I would watch over them, and support them wholeheartedly with whatever choices they make. It's the very least I can do, after all I failed to do for them. I know in my heart that nobody has even considered placing the blame for the recent occurrences on me, but that doesn't make the guilt I bear any lighter, because deep in my mind, I know for a fact that i was a large catalyst to all of this.

I absentmindedly grab a wine bottle from the rack, without even reading the label.

With that in mind… I'd feel much better if Nagisa stayed and lived with me, as weird as that sounds. I'd be able to keep a much closer eye on him, which would grant me a lot of peace of mind.

Suddenly another thought crosses my mind, as a pang of guilt shoots through me.

Karma. I berate myself for having focused all my attention on Nagisa thus far, even though Karma has gone through a lot of the same trauma as well, and now shares the same goal as Nagisa as well.

What if I somehow arranged it for the two of them to live here with me?

No, that's a selfish and illogical thought. There's no viable reason to have Karma live here. While I'm sure he himself would not object to the idea, since he and Nagisa seem to be at their best when they're together both in and out of combat, I'm sure his parents will. While I know next to nothing about them, I know for a fact that they're at least alive, and no parents would surrender custody of their child unless absolutely necessary.

And I've already decided not to mention the fact that Nagisa's father is dead. This would be a very inopportune moment to share that information, and I fear that it might be enough to brea what little bit of willpower the blue haired boy has managed to build up in the last few hours.

It would just be too cruel to kick his wobbly legs out from under him, and I just don't have the heart or the courage to tell him.

But there's another part of me that thinks maybe this decision of theirs is just a temporary coping mechanism, to distract them from the pain. Do they really want to become assassins, or was this just a spur of the moment, emotionally fueled choice? Like two friends who might think to start their own business, and are really excited and determined to make it work, and impulsively invest thousands of dollars into kickstarting the business, only to burnout and drop the whole idea a few weeks later once they realize how difficult it is to start a business from the ground up. Not that I would fault them for it, there are far worse ways to channel negative emotions… like self harm, for example. But is their goal really set in stone? I almost feel bad for doubting their resolve, but I feel that once they get over the initial shock and trauma, their perspectives might change and they may then opt for a more normal path of life.

Or they may truly intend on becoming master assassins. Lord knows skill and talent would not be inhibiting factors to their goal. I place the wine bottle back on the rack.

I guess I could go and find out right now then, and gauge their sincerity for myself.

"Irina, I'm heading to the school to check on them. Mind making something to eat?"

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 **POV Nagisa.**

"Urk!"

I hear Karma choke out as I constrict the life out of him with all my strength. He teeters back and forth in frustration, trying to tear the snake which has expertly coiled itself around him.

The snake being me, of course.

He turns around, and after a few more staggers, before I recognize what he's doing, he launches himself back and slams into a tree.

"Ack!" I cry out as the wind is knocked out of me from the impact against the tough tree. In an instant, the world flips upside down and the open blue sky fills my vision as my brain process the fact that I had just been flipped forcefully on my back. Dazed, I can barely react in time as a fist fills my vision. Reacting on last second instinct, I raise both hands to block the attack.

A futile attempt, as Karma's overwhelming strength is made apparent once again as both my arms accomplish very little aside from barely managing to slow down the colossal strike.

The fist connects with my face, and it feels like someone had just dropped a brick on my face from several feet in the air. My nose starts throbbing and I can already feel the familiar sensation of blood gushing out of my nose, as some of it backlows down my throat, gagging me. My eyes tear up instantly as well reflexively, and I frantically try and bink them away as I roll to the side and scramble away from my unfavorable position, getting up only after having put several metres of distance between us. Karma starts laughing hysterically at my frantic backpedaling.

"And I think with that, we're done for the day. Agreed, Nagisa-chan?"

"Yeah… whatever…" I mutter irately with a nasally voice, as I pinch my nose to stop the almost worrisome amount of blood gushing out.

I shuffle past Karma and he claps his hand on my back, making me jump.

"Y'know you could learn to hold back a little, Karma-kun. You knew full well there was no way I could've dodged that punch given my position" I pout. Naturally, Karma just snickers.

"You know that's not my style Nagisa… it's no fun holding back! Besides, a little extra pain is good once in a while - toughens you up!" He exclaims with a spontaneuous grin that fades as quickly as it came. He looks at me with a stern face.

"Unpinch your nose for a sec" He tells me.

"No, I can still tell it's bleeding"

"I just want to see if it's broken. And we're outside, so who cares if some blood drips out"

After a few seconds of reflection, I tentatively unpinch my nose, and immediately I feel a trail of warm liquid drip down my upper lip. I lean forward slightly and watch as a rapid flow of crimson drops that would put the rate of fire of a submachine gun to shame. They cascade harmlessly on the grass below, tainting the malachite blades.

"Oh shit…"

I look up frantically after hearing Karma's ominous utterance. I start to panic as I notice his grave expression: eyes narrowed in disgust and mouth agape as he examines my face.

"What? ' Oh shit' what, Karma?!" I ask.

He shakes his head. I bring a hand to my nose and start feeling around, feeling for any irregularities.

Suddenly, Karma bursts out laughing.

A wave of anger rushes over me as I realized I had been duped from the very start.

"Not funny, karma-kun! Don't joke about things like that!" I chastise him.

"Sorry, sorry… your nose is fine, it's not broken. Somehow. Consider yourself lucky" He offers.

"Yeah, gee, I feel like I won the lottery" I snarl sarcastically. My nasally voice betrays the authenticity of my sarcasm, and Karma just smiles. He turns around and walks over to the nearest tree, a monstrous oak with a trunk wide enough that my arms would'nt be able to wrap all the way around it if I were to hug it. After swiftly hoisting himself up to the first large branch, about 5 feet off the ground, Karma scooches over and pats the part of the branch next to him, indicating for me to sit down beside him.

" I can't climb, I have to keep applying pressure to my nose".

In response, he silently outstretches his arm. I sigh as I walk over to the tree, and grasp Karma's hand with my own. My eyes widen and I let out a yelp as I'm hoisted in the air forcefully. A small twinge flickers in my shoulder from the sudden yank and in an instant I'm on the branch next to Karma. From the fast rate at which I was pulled, coupled with the considerable blood loss I'm currently experiencing, I feel dizzy and nearly teeter off the tree. Luckily Karma wraps his arm around my shoulders and stabilizes me.

"Arigato" I say in a quiet voice.

Suddenly I become sensitive to the warm light striking my face. I turn and look out across the luscious green field, in breathtaking contrast with the beautiful cobalt hue of the expansive, cloudless sky. The whole world just radiates a veritable warmth in this moment. I gasp at the sheer beauty and serenity of it all. I close my eyes and take a deep inhale as the cool breeze passes through me, touching my very soul and rejuvenating my energy. My nose finally stops bleeding. Keeping my eyes closed, I listen to the sound of millions of blades of grass rustling in tandem with the bursts of wind, and I relish in the otherwise perfect quiescence of the environment.

Not a single insect or bird chirping. Nobody else within miles of us, up on this now abandoned mountain. Even the obnoxious redhead next to me is staying relatively quiet, which is something to celebrate in and of itself. He must be taking it all in as well.

"Do you really want to do this?" Karma suddenly asks, startling me as I had grown accustomed to silence.

I open one eye and look at him. Both his eyes remain closed. I know what he's talking about.

Becoming assassins. A pang of worry shoots through me as I consider the possibility that Karma might be thinking of retracting from our plan earlier.

"Yes. I'm going to become an assassin, no matter what it takes and no matter what the -"

"No" Karma interjects sharply.

The wind picks up dramatically for a brief moment in coincidental timing with his objection.

Both my eyes flutter open and I whirl around to face him. No?! What does he mean by 'No'? Don't tell me he has a problem with me becoming an assassin.

The weight of my gaze must have been heavy, as Karma quickly elaborates on what he meant without opening an eye.

"WE'RE gonna become assassins" he corrects me.

I smile as relief washes over me. I close my eyes once more and take a deep inhale of fresh air.

"Yeah… we're in this together, Karma-kun. I just hope Karasuma sensei won't try and oppose our decision… he seemed pretty stunned when we made our announcement this morning" I frown as I recall Karasuma and Irina's dumbfounded and even sympathetic expressions when I had revealed our plan to them.

"Priceless! I would pay money to get a snapshot of their expressions after you had dropped that bomb on them! Had it not been important to maintain a serious composure to emphasize our resolve, I would've burst out laughing for sure!"

"I'm glad at least one of us can find humour in their reactions…" I state flatly.

Karma stops laughing and regards me with an expression that can only be interpreted to mean 'please elaborate'.

"I don't know if I can go through this without his support Karma-kun. Karasuma-sensei… means a lot to me…" I feel my face start to turn red as I realize how childish and emotional that sounded. I think quickly and add a more objective point.

"Er.. I mean, plus, with his deep connections with the government it would probably be a lot easier to become registered assassins through him… and… um...he could train us and… stuff…" I trail off as I realize my attempt to cover up failed miserably, as Karma nods his head patronizingly after each point I make. It's too late, now he's probably going to tease me about that line for weeks. At least I hadn't said-

"I get it Nagisa, he's like a father to me as well" Karma suddenly says.

My eyes widen as Karma had taken the words right out of my head. I smile at how human and mushy that statement seems coming from the otherwise sociopathic boy.

I'm glad I'm not the only one who feels that way about Karasuma-sensei.

"In any case…" I start again: "I know this is the path meant for us, Karma-kun. I just… have this feeling, I can't quite explain it. Almost like some supernatural force has been at work, causing all these horrible things that happened to us, leaving us as the only survivors, in order to push us towards becoming assassins" I notice Karma's confused expression. He shrugs doubtfully.

"Well if you say so, Nagi. A bit overdramatic, but sure, who knows" He adds with a laugh, and i blush from embarrassment.

"Er, i don't know… it's just how I feel" I add defensively.

"I see…" A deep voice suddenly says from behind us. I nearly fall out of the tree from surprise but a strong hand supports my lower back from behind, allowing me to regain my balance. I look over my shoulder.

"Karasuma-sensei!" I exclaim in shock. How had I not noticed? Looking at Karma's stoic face, it's clear to see he was aware of our sensei's presence.

"H-how long have you been there?" I ask.

Karasuma shoots me a knowing glance.

"Long enough" he answers cryptically, a small smile creasing his lips as he turns around and starts walking back towards his car, which I can just see the tail end of in the distance.

"About 10 minutes. Just before we got in the tree, I think" Karma whispers in my ear to elaborate.

"Come one, Irina's got lunch ready. We have things to discuss. Your official training begins tomorrow"

Training?!

Does that mean…

The winds of change bluster in affirmation.

I look to Karma, and both our eyes light up at the same time from realization.

"He's going to train us! We're actually going to become assassins, Karma!" I beam happily

We high five each other enthusiastically.

"Race ya to the car!" Karma cries out as he hops out of three and sprints after Karasuma's receding figure.

"Hey! You know you're way faster than me, and yet you still give yourself a head start?!" I cry out, trying to sound angry. But really I'm not. How can I be, after receiving the seal of approval from Karasuma sensei in support of my decision. Karma laughs over his shoulder, and starts jogging on the spot. He looks at his nonexistant watch on his wrist, with a goofy expression comparable to that of an old man's when he's trying to read the morning paper without his glasses.

"Fine! You have ten seconds to get going before I start running again! 9...8" He begins the countdown.

"Hey! Those aren't full seconds!" I cry out as I leap out of the tree and begin sprinting as fast as I can, a wide smile nearly splitting my face in two.

Karasuma turns around briefly, before smiling, shaking his head, and continuing on.

Maybe this darker path won't be so dark after all.


	19. Chapter 19

**A Darker Path**

TheReaperCometh

 **A/N: I AM ALIVE! So sorry for such a long gap between chapters this time… what has it been, three weeks? The reason being, I've had a lot of midterm projects, and a fellow who works in my department of my workplace underwent surgery about one month ago, and I've been forced into working more hours because of his absence since then :O. But he's finally recovered enough to start working again, so I should be working a few less hours a week than I have been lately, which is good :D. So expect a more timely update next time! Enjoy the chapter!**

 **Chapter 18**

" **New Stomping Grounds** "

 **POV Karasuma**

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I can't help but smile tiredly as I listen to the eager chattering of the two students behind me in the backseat. I can hardly make out everything that they're saying, as energetic as they are. It seems the prospect of training under me has sparked some interest within them. Surprisingly, Nagisa's voice is more prominent, and Karma's only contributions to such a one sided conversation so far have been bits of sarcastic rhetoric and brief exclamations of agreement or disapproval. I glance in the rearview mirror, at Nagisa's face: alight with childish excitement and passion. What were usually mellow, and tranquil eyes of blue were now ebullient whirlpools, the likes of which nobody could escape the pull of, and would have no choice but let themselves be dragged in by the currents and share in his contagious excitement. I glance at Karma, seemingly as nonchalant as ever - but I can tell he's genuinely happy and passionate in this moment, and his intermittent laughter towards Nagisa's overwhelming vigor was heartfelt.

"Oi, Karasuma-sensei! Can we just go train now, please? I don't care where - anywhere will do!"

I'm pulled by my thoughts at the sudden question posed by the blue haired boy. Keeping my eyes on the road,I respond in a steely voice

"I don't think we can afford too. It's pretty late in the afternoon and Irina is waiting for us with lunch"

"I see… well then it can't be helped I guess" I hear Karma retort, and although I didn't see him respond, I could tell you with one hundred percent certainty that he had said so with a dramatic shrug. Although based on his tone, tinged with disappointed, it's clear he had shared the same desire to train as Nagisa. Are they really looking forward to training that much? I suppose I should be flattered, but it's a little perplexing as to why they would be in such a rush. And it's not like this will really be any different from how I had taught them for months in the assassination classroom.

"Besides, you can't train properly on an empty stomach" I add, hoping to convince them.

"We can!" Nagisa cries out a little too loudly considering our cramped environment.

I Hmph in response. He's really fired up. 30 seconds of silence ensue. Jeez, I hadn't meant to put such a wet blanket over the mood. I look into the rearview mirror and examine the students. Karma's as hard to read as ever, though I can make out the faint tracings of a grimace on his features as he gazes out the window.

Nagisa, on the other hand, is like an open book.

The look of consternation on his face is blatantly obvious, and he looks as though something equally spicy and bitter is resting on his tongue.

I make the mistake of looking into his cerulean whirlpools

Tch. I can feel myself being pulled in.

I can tell the boy would want nothing more than to go for a bout of training right now - I can see the desire to protest against my decision flash across his expression every few seconds, but he's too nice to entreat any further when he knows it would be an inconvenience. I glance back at Karma, who coincidentally happened to sigh morosely just as my eyes fell upon him. Whether he had timed it, or it was purely coincidence, its message was the same. He was just as eager to get training as Nagisa, and just as willing to train more before lunch. I sigh, as I pull out my phone and dial Irina's number.

"Fine, we'll go by to my training facility for one hour. No more than that though" I say in a monotonous voice, while I wait for Irina to pick up her phone.

The wet blanket was swiftly lifted, and the bubbling atmosphere returned as quickly as it had left.

"Hey, where are you guys? Lunch is ready!" I hear irina exclaim through the phone.

"You'll have to excuse us Irina… slight change of plans. The boys are in the middle of training right now and won't be done for a while. We'll be home in a little over an hour" Although I responded in a confident and matter of fact manner, the truth is I'm worried that Irina will be upset that we would be taking much longer than anticipated after she had gone to the trouble of making lunch. The boys behind me seemed to sense the tension from the phone call, and through the silence I could hear them shifting uneasily in their seats. Finally, a long sigh came from the other end of the line.

"Fine, I understand. Well then, this lunch will be your supper, so I guess it saves me the trouble. I'll just stay here then, is that alright with you Karasuma?"

The "here" obviously referred to my house. Though I have no particular objections, the idea of leaving someone unmonitored in my home seems bizarre. Not that I have anything to hide… and I trust Irina.

"Yeah no problem, see you in a little over an hour, then" I say, with a tone intended to convey that the conversation is coming to an end.

"Hai! See you later!" She responded in a cheerful tone. She swiftly hung up before I could say anything else. Why did she sound so happy at the end there?

I hear two exhales of relief let out in unison behind me. It seems the two of them had been holding their breath while waiting for Irina's response, I realize as a small smile tugs at the corner of my mouth.

"What a relief…" Nagisa says in a quiet tone, sinking back into the black leather seat. Karma snorts playfully.

"Yeah, I thought bitch-sensei would give us a real earful there"

I turn right at the next intersection, down a road with significantly less traffic. After driving down the road for five minutes, we see a sign that reads "Gas station - 5 km ahead"

"We're almost there"

I hear Nagisa's hands press against the window as he gazes eagerly out the tinted window, almost like how I would imagine a young child would be react to being told "We're almost at Disneyland!".

After surmising that I had travelled about 100 m, I yank the wheel, veering us off the road towards the frontier of the forest, startling both Nagisa and Karma as they braced themselves in their seats from the sudden turn. The trail to the training facility is clandestine and impossible to see, with low hanging willow trees obscuring it entirely. Having done it a million times however, I expertly veer the vehicle into the narrow opening of the trail, as the lofty leaves of the willow trees scrape softly against the roof of the car. I decide to offer an explanation.

"The gas station sign is basically a sign that lets you know the turn to the training facility is exactly 100 metres ahead. Of course, there is an actual gas station 5 km ahead, otherwise it'd be suspicious.

"...Ah…" Karma mutters, as he and Nagisa both recover from the jarring swerve. The road to the facility is a rough and uneven trail of dirt, from years of having heavy military vehicles travelling down the path, but the efficient shock absorbers of this vehicle still allow for a relatively smooth ride. Many bushes and large trees decorate the sides of the road, as it twists and bends for over a km. The canopy of willow and oak trees blocks a lot of the sunlight, and the beams of light that do permeate the foliage cast a playful pattern on the trail.

After a short while, we eventually clear the peaceful grove, and enter an open area. A wave of nostalgia washes over me as the training facility comes into view, as I recall all the blood and sweat I had shed at this place. To our right, a worn down firing range stood, with bales of hay with painted targets and target dummies being placed at various ranges, as far as 500 metres away, to practice shooting.

On the left of the trail, an open expanse with a large and intimidating obstacle course stands, which over a dozen trainees are currently attempting. I smile sympathetically, while Nagisa gasps and Karma laughs, as we all witness one of the trainees who was almost at the end of the course, had failed the very last set of obstacles - one which had even given me a lot of grief in the beginning. You had to run through a set of tires laid flat on the ground, watching your step so that it lands in the centre hole of each tire. Normally, an easy task, but these tires were laying in mud, and so weaving between tires, and having to yanke your foot out of the thick mud after each step made it much more difficult. At the last tire, one would eventually have to leap two metres to grab a dangling rope hanging above a patch of mock barbed wire in order to swing to the finish platform. The "barbed wire" was just plastic, for training purposes.

Now normally, jumping two metres to grab a rope would be child's play for anyone who had passed grade 8 gym class. But what made it so difficult, is that it's at the very end of an arduous course, and right after you had just skipped through a dozen tires, trekking through the mud. In other words, everyone was always tired by this point - and having to jump 2 metres out of a pool of debilitating mud and successfully grabbing and hanging onto the flimsy rope was a tall order when one was already at their limit. The young man had made a valiant effort to reach the rope, but he hadn't been able to propel himself enough out of the mud, and he face planted into the plastic barbed wire before he had reached the rope. I instinctively looked to the drill sergeant, who's face contorted in a way that only a veteran drill sergeant's could, as he yelled at the young man trying to scramble out of the plastic coils.

Ah, it's good to be back. I haven't been here in a few years. Finally, something dawned on me. I remembered something a colleague of mine who works at this facility had mentioned. Stopping the vehicle, I stick my head out of the window and look to the sky.

"Well, would you look at that…" I mutter in amazement.

I hear shuffling behind me, as Nagisa and Karma do the same. Two gasps of surprise escape them shortly after.

"Karasuma sensei, what is that?!" Nagisa cries in wonder.

I continue to examine the translucent veil covering the sky, like a blanket placed over the entire forest. I struggle to recall how my colleague had explained it. I can vaguely remember what he said .

"It's a new technology that was implemented here last year… this is my first time seeing it in person…" I pause, going over the explanation of the cloak one more time in my head before continuing.

"While I'm a bit foggy on the details, basically it's a new holographic camouflage technology, the latest in computational 3D underneath, it looks like a translucent cloth draped over the sky, but from above you would see only an impermeable layer of foliage. It also blocks incoming and outgoing radio waves, except for those on specific channels. It's also basically soundproof, and allows for very little noise to escape this area"

"Huh… but if its a solid object, how are we getting sunlight?" Nagisa asks.

"Ah right, I almost forgot. The veil is semi-permeable, and allows water and light rays to pass through it which is why all the plants in this area are still alive. As for how it blocks radio waves and such, I think that's because of a frequency scrambler located at its power source or something. It can be deactivated in a moment's notice." I pat myself on the back internally for being able to give a decent explanation, and even answer a question.

Karma looks like he has a ton of questions. Please don't ask me any of them Karma,I was only told how it works, not why. I decide to move along before he can ask me anything, my releasing my foot off the break and continuing down the road.

"There, we're less than a km away from the main building"

I point to the right, however, at a very modern looking shack. Its walls are smooth ivory, with a single set of heavy metallic doors taking up an entire wall. It looks completely out of place in such a natural environment.

"That's the armory, where we keep all our equipment and weapons"

I look through the mirror at Nagisa and Karma's doubtful glares as they scrutinize the building with disdain. I can't help but smile.

"I know what you're thinking, it looks really small, but that's because it goes underground, leading to a much larger space. I'll show you one day"

"Ah!" Nagisa and Karma both exclaim in understanding, and look at the building with newfound respect and wonderment.

I pull into the gravel parking lot and park the vehicle in an undefined space next to a jeep. I get out and the students follow suit.

"Sorry, but we have to walk the last bit"

Neither of the students grumble or complain as they eagerly hop out of the car. They both stretch as they exit the car, and Nagisa starts to laugh as he spins around continuously with his arms stretched out, looking up at the holographic veil above us.

"You're such a little kid, Nagisa-chan" Karma teases while shaking his head, as he finally concludes his stretch.

Nagisa ignores him and continues spinning, before happily collapsing onto a patch of nearby grass, facing the sky.

"Technology sure is impressive" He states quietly, in a breathless tone.

I glance up to the sky again. That, I can definitely agree with.

"Alright you two, let's get going" I say as I start walking away, with the gravel crunching satisfyingly under my feet.

"Hai!" Two voices cry out as one, as two sets of footsteps scramble after me.

 **POV Karma**

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Jeez, I've driven down that road dozens of times. To think there was a secret military base this entire time, right under my nose. Are there any more bases like this, hidden in plain sight around Kunugigaoka? I'm sure someday, so long as I continue down this path, their locations will be divulged to me. That is, assuming there are any more.

"This is the central hall - the indoor training facility, chock full of training equipment, as well as an indoor 800m track and multiple olympic pools. There's also a zero gravity training centre and a wind tunnel, but we won't be needing those"

Lost in thoughts, I hadn't even noticed we had come at the foot of a very large building - or rather, a small compound, as two other buildings of slightly smaller stature flank both sides, adjoined by long and narrow tunnels.

To say the building before us is impressive would be an understatement - it resembles a prestigious private school or something. It's 3 stories high, With smooth, gunmetal gray walls, brightened by flairs of red with envelop the frames of the massive double entrance doors and the sparsely placed windows. Atop the building, Japan flags proudly wave in the light breeze every 5 metres or so along the roof's eaves. Above the impressive entrance, a glittering golden banner hangs, with the acronym for the facility's name - Kunugigaoka's Disciplinary Training Facility - inscribed on it in bold black.

"That building over there," Karasuma says as he motions to the 3 story building to the left, "is the living quarters. And that building to the right, is the research centre, where experimental technologies, like the cloaking veil above us, are designed and tested."

The research centre caught my attention, as a very rotund, snow white building. Although it's only one story high, it must have a circumference greater than a kilometre. Before I can even begin to imagine what sort of crazy experiments occur in that building each day, I'm forced to follow after Nagisa and Karasuma, who've already walked up the short set of stairs to the entrance.

Aas I catch up with them, an armed guard flanking the right of the entrance smiles at us and salutes astutely once Karasuma is within 10 feet of him.

"Good to see you again sir!" He shouts, while clicking his heels together.

"At ease. May we be allowed to enter? I trust I don't need to go through the whole screening process?" Karasuma responds, adding a quick salute in as well. The soldier eyes fall on Nagisa and eye, and he hesitates for a moment. Karasuma, sensing his doubt, speaks up again.

"Relax, they're both with me. I've been training them for months now, and though it was high time I introduced them to this facility: they both want to become field agents like myself in the future"

A flash of understanding appears on the guard's face.

"Ah! Well then, it can't be helped. Besides, I guess if they're friends of yours, they're friends of mine!"

I snort at his cheesy line, and Karasuma shoots me a glare. The man didn't seem to have noticed, however. He continues just as fervently as before:

"Go on right ahead sir!" He turns around and quickly enters a passcode, about 8 digits, into a control panel and the large doors open.

"Great, thanks" Karasuma thanks him half-heartedly before heading through the entrance.

Nagisa smiles awkwardly to the beaming guard as he scurries by, while I nonchalantly walk by without so much as a sigh.

"Good luck with your training, you two!" He calls after us, before breaking into laughter as the doors slowly close.

"A-arigato" Nagisa calls back in a meek voice, but the door was already closed.

I look around, my breath hitches. Nagisa has a similar response, as we both gawk at our interior is just as impressive as the exterior - or maybe even moreso.

The ornate ivory walls, without so much as a single chip in the paint, form a spacious hallway which I can see leads to a large open area after about 20 metres. Exquisite glass chandeliers hang from the 12 foot high ceiling every 15 feet, bathing the hallways in a warm and ambient glow, and adding a lustrous reflection to the impeccable black marble floor on which we stand. I feel guilty just standing on such lavish flooring. Is this really a military facility? I look to Karasuma as I hear him sighand mutter something along the lines of 'how pretentious'. He seems to be looking around, just as caught off guard as Nagisa and I. He notices my staring and offers an explanation with a tired look on his face.

"The new person in charge, Amanda Werqin, is… very fond of wealth and exquisite decor, having been raised in a very wealthy noble family her whole life...things looked much simpler when I first came here to train, and before she took over 8 years ago. The value of this building went from about 200 million to well over 500 since she came here" He states dryly. 'Looks more like a noble's estate at this point' I think I hear him grumble quietly under his breath as he begins walking down the hallway. Nagisa and I follow, and the 3 pairs of out of sync footsteps create a constant drumming against the onyx colored flooring.

We finally emerge into a gigantic room at the end of the entrance hallway. Like a reverse bottleneck, this room's width is about 3 times that of the considerable wide hallway, and the ceiling becomes a few feet higher. A single, dazzling chandelier hangs in the middle of the room, successfully illuminating the entire room. A large desk stands in the centre of this great chamber, and behind it a staircase leading up to the second floor. On either side of the room, a door stands, presumably the entrance to the hallway to lead to the respective adjoining building.

A woman sits behind the 4 foot high desk, and she appears almost comically petite sitting behind such an enormous desk. Karasuma wastes no time in approaching her, and as the three of us approach her in the centre of the room, I begin to feel vulnerable and exposed, surrounded by such a vast space. She's wearing very expensive looking clothing, a dress of black silk. She's also donning an eye catching pendant, with an impressive blood red ruby embedded within. Despite the gem's laughable size, I have no doubts it's real. The old lady's posture is straight, and her hands are folded delicately on the desk in a prim and proper way. She carries herself like a noble.

The woman, who appears to be in her early 60's based on her graying hair and noticeable wrinkles, smiles forcibly at us. She has long hair, with silver locks reaching down as far as her shoulders. Upon her tiny nose rests a pair of red trimmed glasses, covering pale green eyes, devoid of the energy of youth. Yet there is a knowledgeable glint within them that immediately lets the person looking into them know that she is far from senility.

"Ah, Tadaomi-kun, welcome, it has been a long time" she states in a hoarse voice, before slightly dipping her head in a polite bow at Karasuma.

"Yes… too long, Werqin-sama" Karasuma responds while bowing formally.

Eh?

This little old lady is the person in charge of this entire establishment?

"Bah!" The old lady cries out suddenly, waving her hand in a dismissive manner. Her sudden outburst nearly caused her glasses to fall off her face.

"What's a young, handsome man like yourself doing, bowing so respectfully to an old croan like me? And who are these two youngsters you've brought with you? Are they perhaps… no, they're too old to possibly be your kids… unless you adopted? Although I never took you for one to settle down with a family any time soon…" she begins musing aloud, quizzically staring between Nagisa and I.

Maybe she isn't as far from senility as I had originally thought.

Nagisa laughs nervously under the intense stare of the woman.

"No, they are not my kids, they're…" Karasuma pauses for a moment: "...trainees of mine, who want to become field agents like myself. These are two of the students who were involved in project: assassination classroom, and have been training under me for months now. Just thought I'd show them this facility and get an hour of training in with them before we leave"

The old lady nods in understanding before smirking, this time genuinely. Karasuma looks to us expectantly, and I'm the first to catch on.

"Hello, my name is Karma Akabane. Pleasure to meet you" I say with a slight bow. Nagisa scrambles to follow my lead

"A-and I'm Nagisa Shiota!He stutters as he bows rigidly. I smirk at his awkwardness.

"I see. And here I thought you were just coming by for a visit, Kazuma! Hohoho!" She exclaims, seemingly satisfied with her own joke. Kazuma, eh? That's quite the nickname.I'll be sure to make good use of it, I think with a sneer, directing a devilish gaze towards the oblivious "Kazuma". Another thing to note, is that these two seem to go way back with each other. I'll have to ask Karasuma how he knows her.

"Hmph, though I can't say I approve of you dragging a poor girl like this into such a dangerous world. What a pity, if she had just been born into a more noble upbringing, she would've become a beautiful and enviable thing - a source of conflict for many men,I tell you!" The exclaims in a scolding voice directed at Karasuma.

Despite my best efforts, I explode with ruckus laughter, as I clutch my stomach to stop myself from keeling over. The old lady looks at me confusedly, but I can't help it.

She immediately assumed that Nagisa was a girl!

I look at Nagisa, who has a painfully distressed expression on his face, his face glowing red. When he notices me looking at him and laughing, he looks to the floor and blushes even more profusely. I resist the gnawing urge to take my phone out and take a picture. I then look to Karasuma, who isn't even immune to the hilariousness of this situation, as I notice the slight twitching of the corners of his mouth.

"Er, Werqin-sama, he's not… nevermind. Ahem, well… I like what you've done with the place"

Karasuma says reluctantly to change the subject, as he scans the entire room quickly.

"Now now, I know you dislike it, you old fashioned dog, you. Though I suppose, someone of a poor and rigid upbringing like yourself would have little appreciation for the fashionable intricacies of life" she states in a matter of fact, non malicious voice. Karasuma nods awkwardly.

"Right… well if you don't mind, our time is limited and we'd like to get training. I'm sure we'll be coming by fairly frequently for the time being, so I hope that will not pose any problems"

"Of course not. Come whenever you please… except tuesdays and sunday evenings"

"Arigato" Karasuma bows, and Nagisa and I do as well.

Werqin waves us off before looking back down at a pile of papers on her desk.

"Alright, alright, now away with you. Karasuma, you remember where training room one is, right? The door right over there" she says as she swivels on her chair, pointing to a large door just to the right of the staircase behind her.

"Of course I remember. I've spent hundreds of hours in there after all' Karasuma says with a smile before he begins walking towards it.

I look to Nagisa, and he looks back. We nod resolutely at each other before bowing one last time to the old lady and heading towards our first training session

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	20. Chapter 20

**A Darker Path**

 **TheReaperCometh**

 **A/N: Not much to say, other than I hope you are all doing well. Enjoy this somewhat fluffy chapter. I thought it was long overdue to have a chapter or two that wasn't just totally depressing :)**

 **Chapter 19:**

" **Some Good News"**

 **POV Karma**

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We pull back into the driveway of Karasuma's house, after a gruelling training session. Even though it was only a little over an hour, I feel more tired now than I did after an entire day of training with just Nagisa. He really ran us ragged.

But as much as it was tiring, it was quite helpful, leading me to believe that Karasuma was holding back on us a lot of training during his time instructing the entire class. And to think I thought that I had already learned all he had to offer, I smile bitterly.

Karasuma, seemingly impervious to fatigue, gets out of the car with haste and strides up his front steps as fluently as ever. Nagisa and I, with disgruntled sighs, heave the doors open and swing our heavy bodies out of the car, before proceeding to shuffle lethargically after him. I look to the blue haired boy beside me. I smirk as I notice him swaying unabashedly with each step, and every fiber of my being is screaming at me to give him a little push and watch him teeter over helplessly.

But I don't even have the energy to that.

Instead, I lean over slightly as I pass him and bump him with my shoulder. A feeble bodycheck by any means, but he's just as weak as I am and it sends him crashing into the wall with a heavy thud.

"Ah… screw… you…" Nagisa mutters out with a chuckle, before pushing off the wall with a grunt, bumping back into me. I laugh and stagger back a few steps.

"Okay, okay, truce for tonight" I extend my hand out to him, gesturing for a handshake.

He regards me with droopy eyes, full of doubt.

"C'mon, what could I possibly do?" I say innocently.

Nagisa, judging my intentions to be pure, grabs my hand in a weak grip.

He should've trusted his instincts.

With the rest of my strength, which isn't much, I yank with all my might, pulling a wide-eyed Nagisa off his feet.

"Ah!" He cries out with surprising loudness. He stumbles off the porch and careens into a bush.

A few moments of silence ensue, as I cackle weakly, and Nagisa stares blankly at the darkening sky.

"Well, this is my life now" He says, having already resigned himself to staying seated in the tangles of the bush for the rest of his life. I laugh at the convincing sincerity of his tone.

"Karma-kun, the least you could do is help me up" He asks nonchalantly, outstretching his arm for me to grab and pull him up.

Too nonchalantly, if you ask me. I narrow my eyes playfully.

"Really Nagisa, how stupid do you think I am, to give you a hand so you can pull me down?"

Nagisa sighs and bites his lower lip in defeat

"I'll take your silence as an admission. See you inside, Nagisa-chan" I wave him off and shuffle inside.

"Fine… see you in like 15 minutes" he says flatly, telling me he actually intends to sit there for that long, mustering up the energy to get up.

As I walk in the house, my nostrils are assaulted with a wonderful scent, of something freshly grilled and seasoned.

Hopefully this food will be able to fill the growing hollowness within me.

Mother… Father… don't you care?

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 **POV Nagisa**

"Arigato, Irina sensei! That was some of the best smoked fish I've ever had!" I exclaim.

Despite the fact that just 20 minutes ago I was sitting in a bush outside, contemplating my existence and reconsidering my life choices, I'm now full of energy after stuffing myself with Irina's surprisingly good dinner. Although I'm sure that the fact that I was starving and would've happily eaten pretty much anything was a contributing factor to the food's apparent heavenly flavour. Though the satisfied looks on both Karma and Karasuma seem to affirm that I'm not the only one who found the food utterly delicious.

" You're welcome. Oh and, we're not in school anymore, you can drop the whole -sensei thing" She says flippantly with a smile. I nod my head. Karma brings up a new topic of discussion.

"Oi, Karasuma, so what's the deal with you and old granny at the facility? She even has a nickname for you, and you didn't even rebuke her for using it" Karma suddenly launches into an interrogation. Irina's ears perk up she looks to Karma eagerly.

"A nickname? Oh, I have to hear this!"

Karma grins mischievously, glancing at Karasuma's gradually contorting face while whispering

"She called him-"

It seems Karasuma will be having none of that tonight, cutting him off before he can divulge the pet name to Irina.

"Ahem, like I said, I don't really know her. I've just… bumped into her a few times over the years and she used to sometimes oversee my regiment's training" He shrugs and looks back down at his food.

His expression is a blank canvas, a perfect poker face. almost as if purposefully wiped clean of any potential giveaway.

I glance around the table and see similar looks on the other two seated members, harboring the same belief as me. He's hiding something.

Karasuma's fork stops moving in mid air on its way towards his mouth, the weight of our curious gazes finally getting to him. He sighs in frustration and drops his fork back to his plate before looking up at all of us.

"Fine, if you all want to know that badly… she's my aunt. Though not biologically, she was adopted by my grandparents, who always wanted a second child after my mother but were too old to risk having another. She had come from a wealthy family, but both her parents were killed when her hometown was practically razed to the ground by a group of infamous terrorists back in the day. My grandfather, who at the time, was chief of the local fire department, found her and single handedly saved her from the third floor of her burning manor. Shortly after that, they adopted her and she was one of the family"

I blink in disbelief. Wow, I just learned more about Karasuma's family in 30 seconds than I had up until now since I met him. Irina, obviously just as interested as us to learn more about our reclusive teacher who's managed to keep all personal information under lock and key until now, presses the attack

"Was this on your mother's side or your father's"

Karasuma shoves another forkful of food into his mouth, briefly glancing up at the ceiling as if deciding whether to answer. He raises a hand over his mouth to obstruct our view from the interior of his mouth as he speaks.

"Mother's side. She's about 6 years older than my mom now…" He sighs heavily.

Such a human and personal word like mom sounded utterly bizarre coming from someone as imposing and rigid as Karasuma. To be honest, oddly enough, I never even considered he had a mother.

"Your mother… what's she like?"

Irina, you need to learn when to quit, i think to myself almost angrily. Now he's gonna close up again and be more reluctant to open up the next time, after being so fiercely questioned this time.

"She was…" He starts, dragging his fork through his bowl of food as if sifting through it for the right answer. I'm a bit surprised that he hasn't closed up yet. Every time we've ever asked about his personal life he just prevaricated and ignored the questions. Why is he so cooperative now.

"... she was beautiful…" he begins in a tone begetting fondness.

"She was extremely compassionate, and donated most of the money she earned from her work as a secretary for a large corporation to charities. Of course, my dad's salary as a high ranking field agent provided more than enough money to support our family. She was loved by everyone she met, and father used to joke and say her smile could push away the clouds on a rainy day. She always knew how to cheer people up, after having needed to do so for father so many times after he returned from long and burdensome missions. And where many women at this point would have left my father, or resorted to cheating, due to the secrecy and long periods of absence because of his lifestyle, she remained faithful her whole life, happily greeting him with a smile every time he returned. She would comfort me when I, as a young boy who couldn't understand my father's leaves of absence, would feel angry and resentful towards him. She was a great mother"

"Was?" I blurted out without thinking, .

"Yes… she died a few years ago. It seems that all those years of waiting for my father to come home, knowing full well he was constantly being plunged into life and death situations, was a huge source of stress for her and took years off her life. She had been taking a kind of antidepressant to help her cope with the stress, unbeknownst to me or my father. My father and I were wracked with guilt, especially me since I had started pursuing a similar career path as my father for a few years by the time she died, which I'm sure only added to her anxiety. And in retrospect, there were plenty of signs that she was suffering, we just didn't notice. She was tired more often than not, in the last few years of her life she rarely wanted to leave the house anymore, when she used to love travelling. She seemed to be getting sick on a monthly basis. And her beautiful blonde hair turned grey at the age of 45. She claimed it was hereditary, but looking back now, that was clearly a lie because both her mother and father retained their hair color until they were well into their 50's"

I glance glumly down at the table, feeling guilty about having pried too deeply into his personal life. In the corner of my eye, I see Irina completely enraptured expression as she leans eagerly over the table towards Karasuma. I also notice she started subconsciously fiddling with her hair at the mention of "beautiful blonde hair".

Karasuma glances to me with a soft expression and a sad smile, while shoving the last bit of his dinner into his mouth.

"Sorry about that, didn't mean to

"Sorry… I didn't mean to ask that… I, I didn't know-" He directs his fork's prongs towards me.

"Don't worry about it. I've already come to terms with it and accepted it, and you had no way of knowing. Death is as much apart of life as life itself, anyway"

"Still, sorry for your loss" Irina offers quietly as she reaches over and pats Karasuma's hand.

Karma and I nod in agreement. Karma's offly quiet. Sad stories usually have no effect on him but he's clearly in a state of thoughtful contemplation.

"Ah.. thanks" Karasuma finally replies uncomfortably, before pulling away from the table while carrying his empty bowl to the counter. I can almost see the door to his personal life close and lock itself once more. Suddenly the chair next to me squeaks abruptly, puncturing the stagnating silence and almost making me choke on the food in my mouth.

"I'll be in the guest room, thanks for dinner" Karma ambiguously announces while walking towards the stairway.

"Understood" Karasuma

My eyes follow Karma's figure out of the room hoping to make eye contact to get a read on his weird sudden behaviour. But he never looks back.

"Ah, well I better be on my way too then. Mind if I drop by again tomorrow?" Irina inquires, addressing the owner of the house. He regards he warily for a moment before responding.

"Sure. Just don't come before 15:00, we'll be training all morning and early afternoon"

Irina glances to me and rolls her eyes at his use of military time, and we both share a small giggle. Karasuma glances between us with a confused, doubtful look, which only fuels our laughter. Finally calming down, I manage to speak.

"Sumimasen, Karasuma-sensei. We were just…" I glance to Irina for help, which she happily provides with a smile

"We were just wondering if you have an off switch, Mr. 007"

I laugh again at her snide remark and Karasuma's still confused look.

"Well, toodles!" Irina cries out before spinning on her heels and promptly strutting out the front door

"See you tomorrow Irina sen-" I catch myself, remembering what she said about not calling her sensei anymore. She glances back at me and nods approvingly, before blowing a kiss my way and closing the door behind her.

"Off switch… 007…" I hear Karasuma mutter from in the kitchen, as he tries to decipher her little jab. He might have understood it if he knew who James Bond is, but I'm 99% sure he doesn't. And that just makes it funnier. I force the last mouthful of food into my mouth to stifle the urge to laugh again. I don't want to seem disrespectful. After swallowing, I speak slowly and purposefully, in order to not giggle.

"I'll go check on Karma then, goodnight Kara-"

"Nagisa" He suddenly interrupts me, making me freeze in my seat in surprise. Karasuma suddenly walks over to me and plops himself down in the seat next to me where Karma had been sitting. He stares blankly at the table, and I see his lips moving slightly as if he's rehearsing a line. After a brief moment, his eyes dart from the table back to me with a determined look.

What is he about to tell me? I gulp in anticipation. I really hope this isn't more bad news…

"How would you feel…" He pauses for a moment, and if he were anyone else I'd say he did it purposefully for suspense.

How would I feel about what? I can't even guess. Just please…

Please don't be bad news! I scream internally.

"How would you feel about living with me, officially?"

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 **A/N Finally! I feel like I've been leading up to this for the past three chapters or so lol. Hope you don't mind**


	21. Chapter 21

**A Darker Path**

 **TheReaperCometh**

 **A/N: Still trying to stay consistent on the bi-weekly update regime! (I may be a day or two late this time, but that's besides the point). Summatives are starting now and exams are looming just around the corner *gulp*, but I'll try and stay as consistent as possible over the next month!**

 **Be sure to read the A/N at the end of this chapter :P**

 **Enjoy**

 **Chapter 20: "The Unseen Cracks"**

 **POV Nagisa**

 **(late night)**

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"..." my mouth opens, in a futile attempt to formulate words.

Did I hear that right? Is he being serious?

Karasuma stares at me thoughtfully, watching the listless morphing of my gaping mouth with mild amusement. He places a reassuring hand on my shoulder.

"You don't have to answer right away. Just thought I'd offer. Deciding on a new place to live is not something I could expect you to do in a single night. There's no rush" He gets up from his chair and heads towards the stairwell, yawning boredly as he begins bis trek upwards. So casually, as if he hadn't just offered me one of the most life-changing opportunities I've ever heard.

I can't let him misunderstand my silence!

"W-wait! Hold on!" I cry out doggedly, springing up from my chair. My mind is racing so quickly, outpaced only by the beating of my heart.

Karasuma, startled from his groggy state, stumbles mid-step before catching himself on the guardrail and turning around to face me with a neutral expression. I feel my face flush from embarrassment. Before I can even think of what to say, a bow swiftly, my upper body forming a nearly parallel line with the floor.

"Th-thank you for the offer!" I manage to squeak out.

Man, why am I so awkward? It just caught me so off guard. How could I possibly respond casually?! It's like a dream come true. This must be how people feel when they win the lottery or something. I had been plagued with the worry of wondering where I would end up living after this, but I've been offered a cure! I can't pass it up. Where else would I go?

"T-then…" I continue shakily "If it's o-okay with you… I'll be in your care from now on!" I sputter out.

My heart is beating like a thousand times per second, I hear it pounding in my ears. What if he changes his mind? What if he chastises me or thinks I'm weird for accepting so quickly? What if he was just joking? What if-

A sudden chuckle breaks my chain of thought.

"At ease, soldier" Karasuma starts jokingly, "no need to be so formal. Even if you started living here, our dynamics wouldn't change from how they are now. I just thought that if you were a more... permanent resident here, ensuring your safety and supervising your training would be a heck of a lot easier. But again, you don't have to accept right now, think it over for-"

"I accept!" I cry out once more emphatically, interrupting his spiel. A short pause of several seconds ensues, before Karasuma smiles at me and lets out a quick exhale through his nose which could be considered a laugh.

"I'm glad" he responds with a cheerful but sleepy tone.

Another silence follows those words, as we both let the meaning of what was just said sink in..

Me… living with Karasuma, I think to myself, falling back into my chair like a sack of potatoes.

"Ah, well goodnight then. Don't stay up too late, I'll be waking you and Karma at 7:00" Karasuma yawns once more, before climbing the last few steps and disappearing from sight.

"Goodnight…" I mutter hazily, after a long delay as I hear the closing of Karasuma's bedroom door upstairss.

I smile, fist pumping enthusiastically.

Things are finally going well for once!

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 **POV Karma (1 am)**

I toss and turn in my bed, the comforter and bed sheets having already been tossed into a mangled and dejected pile on the floor. Despite that and the very mild temperature, I'm drenched in sweat.

They really don't care

They couldn't care less about me. Would they shed a tear if I died? Would they even frown. He would probably just shrug. My mother might have the etiquette to muster a sniffle. And maybe, just maybe, they'd try and make it to my funeral I smile bitterly.

Mother. Father.

I've known for a long time that they didn't really love me. They made it abundantly clear from very early on, that I was nothing but a nuisance for them. The fact that I have no recollection of any interaction between myself and either of my parents before the age of 5 make it quite obvious they wanted nothing to do with me. I was always taken care of by a nanny while I was young. Soon after that, they didn't even think I was worth enough for them to pay a nanny to take care of me, and I was alone. I remember vividly, one day when I was 8 years old, on one of the very rare occasions that we actually ate together, I actually asked them:

"Papa...mama… why don't you take care of me? Why don't we do anything as a family, like a lot of my friends' families?" I asked honestly.

WIthout even looking up from his plate, as he shoved a forkful of potato into his fat, overstuffed jowls, he said

"I'm too busy. Just be quiet and eat your food"

Fat bastard.

I then looked to my mother for her answer. She shot me a disgusted look as if to say 'how dare you even look upon me' before she, eloquent as always, said coldly:

"Shut up, I don't want to hear your goddamn whining. Why don't we do things as a family? Give me break. I don't want to deal with your shit"

She had such a way with words. Truly, a prime example of a prim and proper lady.

After hearing that, my horrified 8 year old self got up from the dinner table and sprinted to my room, slamming the door behind me. I cried for hours and hours. Finally, after my throat was dry and hoarse from all the constant screaming, my door finally flew open and my father appeared in the doorway. At the time I was almost relieved. Surely he had come to try and calm me down, and apologize for his and his wife's harsh words. Maybe he was even going to take me to the park and play, like many of my friends told me was a normal activity to do with a dad.

How naive I was.

"For fuck's sake, shut the hell up you little shit, you've been crying for long enough!" He screamed, shattering any idealistic hope I had that he had come to comfort me.

He then took of his belt and beat me with it until my small body was covered in lashes and bruises, and I could barely move. He verbally abused throughout the beating, which at the time hurt more than the physical abuse

"You ungrateful whelp!" he bellowed: " We give you shelter, clothes, and food, and you have the audacity to just get up and leave the dinner table without even touching your supper, wasting it? As if your mother and I don't already feel like we waste too much money on you! Now quit your incessant crying, boy!"

After that sort of thing became the norm, I started acting out more and more, and went home less and less as I got older. I tried staying over at friends homes whenever possible - when I couldn't, I'd just use the copious amount of money I'd steal from my mother's purse and go stay at a hotel. She's a dumb old pig, and never noticed. Plus, her purse was constantly being refilled by my father, who was, despite his large gut and low-life type attitude at home, an ambitious and successful businessmen for one of japan's largest brokerage firms.

And that's because he loved money. Exclusively. And so did my mother. And sometimes I wouldn't be home for a full week, I'd skip school often and get into trouble. My parents never really gave a shit, and never even questioned it. I suspect they were disappointed when I came back after a long time of being away. After being an underaged vagabond for a few years, I got bored and decided to shape up around the time I started really hanging out with Nagisa in early middle school. I internally sigh as I realize how depressing a story my childhood was.

But I still had fun.

I hate them both so much. It's why I always make an effort to refer to them in the past tense - because they're dead to me.

…

I turn over uncomfortably in my bed and look out the window despondently.

Despite it all, for some reason, part of me still expected - no, wanted - my parents to give a shit about me this time. I thought maybe after I was involved in an intense alien attack involving the military, televised nationally, where nearly every single one of my classmates was hospitalized and then promptly killed in a terrorist attack… I thought… they would at least try and find me. Or contact me. They both have my phone number. But they haven't sent a single text, or attempted a single phone call, even though I've clearly been in the middle of a now weeklong shitstorm.

I guess that's just wishful thinking.

"Ahhh… this is depressing" I mutter aloud. Time to think of the good things in my life… let's see.

Well, there are the three people I give a shit about right now. Nagisa, Karasuma, and Irina.

I have a goal now, shared with my best, and only, friend. That's cool I guess. Something to keep me busy, to set my sights on for the future. I'm sleeping in a comfortable bed, that's a plus

Oh, and I guess now I've finally completely dissociated with my parents, which is something to celebrate.

Right?

Right. I reply to myself confidently. Deep breaths, Akabane, deep breaths… you've been doing fine without them your whole life, now more than ever is not the time to be giving a shit about them.

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 **POV Karasuma**

With comical timing, my phone buzzes just as I close my bedroom door behind me. I glance down at the phone to see who would be messaging me at this hour, when all I want to do right now is get a solid 7 hours of sleep tonight.

"Did you talk to him?" The message reads.

Of course it's Irina.

"Yes I talked to him - all good, he's willing to live here. And, no I didn't mention his father yet. The boy doesn't need that. Goodnight" There. That short message answers pretty much everything she could be wanting to know, and implies that I am going to sleep. Only a completely insensitive prick would try and start a conversation after reading that-

"*thumbs up emoji* that's great! Oooh, what was his reaction like. I bet he was really surprised and awkward. How adorable :).

God dammit. Heaven forbid I get to sleep before the clock reaches the a.m. I send a curt reply.

"Yes, he was quite awkward" then I decide to follow up with another one, to really drive home the message

"Goodnight." There. I couldn't possibly make it any clearer that I really don't want to continue talking-

Ding!

Before looking down, I say a silent prayer that it's just a simple "goodnight" in response.

Of course it's not.

"Haha I bet. But you really should tell him about his father sooner rather than later. No point letting the boy heal and then ripping the scab off. Weird he didn't even think about his father though? And what about Karma?"

Karma? What about him? I don't see any correlation

This woman is insane I think to myself as I flop down on my bed and begin typing a now explicit way of saying I'm done for the night, and concisely answer her questions in rapid succession.

"I guess that is weird, though they really weren't close at all. I'll tell him when the time is right. What about Karma? I'm going to sleep now, we can talk tomorrow. Goodnight" and with that I hold down my power button, and just as the swipe right to power off slider appears, one last message comes in. But this time it's an e-mail.

From: George

Subject: Important

Oi, I 'eard you took in those two boys from the other day under yer wing now. That true? They livin' with ye? Not saying I'm against it or anything, in fact I think it's a great idea! Yer a father now. Haha! Anywho… a little bird told me they have their sights set on becoming field agents eh? That's great. We're in desperate need of fresh young talent in our stagnating departement of old farts in over-expensive suits and whatnot. Those two have been training under ye for a while right? Ah, I'm getting sidetracked again, sorry. Incidentally, I have a potential mission available. And quite frankly, I think you're the only one who can help me out with this one. Call me when you want and we can set up a meeting. I'll let you in on all the details when we meet in person"

I reread the email again.

Something's up with this. It's not how George typically writes. Grammatically and linguistically, yes, but structurally and transitionally, this email has a different tone than normal. I mean, it's definitely from George, that much is obvious and not particularly unusual - I've received mission debriefings from George before. But the fact that he mentioned Nagisa and Karma in such an admiring way, only to then segway into the talk of a mission with a conspiuous "incidentally" makes me wonder if perhaps the two topics aren't unrelated. And what's with the "you're the only one who can help me" bit? That doesn't make any sense. There are plenty of other field agents available - skilled, field agents at that. There's no reason why I would an exclusive candidate to the mission… I wonder…

Unless by "you're the only one who can help me" wasn't in direct reference to me, but rather a particular asset or connection at my disposition that he would find useful.

Then it clicks, but it's almost too ridiculous to viably consider.

Is he seriously offering a mission… to Nagisa and Karma?!

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.

.

 **A/N: So it's at this point in the story - when they are now ACTUALLY becoming "field agents" *cough* assassins *cough*, that I feel like I should ask you if there's anything you feel should be included in the future… a scene, a relationship-builder, an aspect or idea that I haven't included yet. Obviously, I'm not asking you guys "how do you want this to end?" or anything like that, because I already have a good idea for that and am not really willing to change. Just leave a review or a message me any suggestions you may have! Thanks for reading.**


	22. Chapter 22

**A Darker Path**

 **TheReaperCometh**

 **A/N: training day begins for our protagonists - and the reveal of a potential mission, perhaps?**

 **Enjoy!**

 **On a side note: AAAAAAAAGH end of year exams are so stressful! They're starting in just a few days and I'm one step away from just dropping out of school right now to avoid them. Working at McDonald's for the rest of my life wouldn't be so bad, right? I'm obviously exaggerating, but seriously, I hate this time of year :O)**

 **But anyway, you don't care about any of that so I'll just let you start reading what you came here for.**

" **A Rude Awakening"**

 **POV Karma (6:30 a.m)**

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I hope that whoever invented the alarm clock died a horrible death, I grumble as I sluggishly smack the source of the obnoxious beeping.

For a few seconds after, I can hear the same beeping from Nagisa's room through the seemingly paper thin walls: before it's silenced as well.

I rub the sleep from my eyes. 6:30 a.m. what an unholy time of day. I crawl out from under my covers and lazily slip into a muscle shirt and track pants - attire suggested by Karasuma. I stagger through the darkness until finally reaching the door. I yank it open only to be greeted by more darkness, save for a square of light projected from the kitchen over the bottom of the stairwell.

Suddenly the door next to me opens up, and Nagisa shuffles out with heavy lidded eyes and unkempt hair. He regards me sleepily and mutters a "Morning" amidst a yawn. I smile at him meekly, lacking the energy to even make a single remark on his untidy appearance. We shuffle down the stairs together as our bodies slowly come to life, and squint our eyes as we enter the criminally bright kitchen, where Karasuma is sitting at the table reading the newspaper. Who the hell reads the newspaper these days? And what kind of masochistic news deliverer has the paper distributed by 6:30 a.m? Nagisa and I slump into the chairs on either side of Karasuma. He looks up from his paper at each of us, in a way reminiscent of how I would imagine a father would gruffly acknowledge his kids in the morning.

"Well good morning. Sleep well? You both look as though you didn't sleep at all. 6:30 isn't that much earlier than the time you would normally get up at to go to school, correct?" He asks nonchalantly.

Nagisa's tired voice answers, as he plops his head on the table.

"Yeah but… I couldn't sleep much, I was too excited for to-*yawn*-day"

Karasuma then switches his gaze to me.

"I… just had some things on my mind last night" I offer ambiguously. Karasuma shrugs and looks back down at his paper. A 5 minute silence arises, intermittently broken by the turning of pages or yawn from either me or Nagisa. He finally finishes the paper, folds it up and tossing it in the middle of the table.

The headline reads "KUNUGIGAOKA MOUNTAIN SLAUGHTER: NOT ALIENS?"

I ball my fists in anger as an image of that fucker Takaoka, alive and well, appears in my mind. I glance to Nagisa, who moments ago was as sedentary as a rock, now has a cognitive expression of unconcealed discontent.

Karasuma then glanced between us both a few times, before producing two sheets of paper from his suit and hands one to me and one to Nagisa.

"I wrote you each a list of exercises you'll each be doing today. That's what you'll be doing for the first hour of today's training session. You're both in pretty decent shape, but there's plenty of room for improvement So take a look at your routines now and prepare yourself, because it won't be easy" he tells us as he stands up and fetches two protein smoothies from the fridge, handing one to each of us.

"Chug those down on the way there. No time for breakfast… besides, if you had solid food, you might throw up" he adds ominously as he walks out the front door.

Was that a sneer!?

Suddenly I'm much less keen on training today

.

.

.

We pull up to the impressive facility once again and head inside its immaculate foyer

"You two go ahead, I just need to check a few things with her. Drink some water and do some stretching" Karasuma suggests to us as he heads over to the old granny at the desk once again. She waves to us ebulliently when she notices Karasuma walking towards her, to which Nagisa and I gave a polite nod of acknowledgement.

Nagisa and I headed to the training room - seemingly the only remnant of the past version of this facility, in contrast with the posh atmosphere presiding in the rest of the building. It looks like a pretty average gym. Nagisa and I swiftly move to an open matted area and plop our bags down. We both look over our individual routine. I've got to commend Karasuma, he knows how to put a good workout routine together. My muscles are aching in anticipation just reading it over. After comparing mine with Nagisa's, it seems our sensei put a lot of time and consideration into individualizing and stylizing both routines to take our own unique strengths and weaknesses into accounts. Nagisa's workout is completely different from mine. His entire regime consists mainly of leg, core, and back strengthening exercises: as well as a shit ton of cardio. I laugh as Nagisa gulps at the sheer brutality of his training. Though mine isn't any easier, consisting mainly of heavy weight bodybuilding type exercises, targeting pretty much every muscle in my body whilst fully utilizing every workout machine at our disposal.

"Well, seems like we're fucked I guess" I joke

A panicked look crosses Nagisa's face: "this… isn't going to be painless, is it?" He asks rhetorically.

"Don't start crying on the first day Nagisa-chan. This is a necessary part of achieving our dream, isn't it?" I offer optimistically.

Nagisa nods approvingly, seemingly convinced.

"Yeah… it shouldn't be too bad. We'll be fine!" He cheers, just as Karasuma walks in through the doors.

He walks up to us unties his tie, then proceeds to practically rip his suit off and toss it to the side, revealing a fitting muscle shirt underneath, and a body seemingly sculpted out of stone. A glistening whistle dangles from his neck.

Oh shit, he means business. I look to Nagisa's, whose face is nearly completely white.

"So… are you two ready?" Karasuma asks us, as he brandishes a stopwatch.

Needless to say, he doesn't give us time to answer.

.

.

 **3 hours later**

WHAM!

I wince as Nagisa's back slams into the mat for what must be the hundredth time today.

"Again!" Karasuma orders ruthlessly.

"Agh… I think I'm good for today sensei..." Nagisa groans in protest as he writhes on the ground.

We've been training for almost 3 hours. rigorous Stand alone exercising, grappling, and sparring have torn our bodies to shreds. Both Nagisa and I are just about at our limits. No, that's a lie. We were at our limits about an hour ago. Now we're almost at our limit's limit, as senseless as that may sound.

This is one hell of a training regime. Karasuma sighs and puts his hands on his hips.

"Alright then, we'll call it quits for now. You both did well for your first day" He says as he looks to his watch. "It's 10:30. Drink some fluids and pack up. I need to go meet up with a colleague. I'll meet you outside in 15 minutes" As he walks away, without so much as single bead of sweat anywhere on his body, Nagisa and I collapse on the mat, sprawling ourselves out with laboured breath.

What the fuck… have I… gotten myself into...

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 **POV Karasuma**

I glance back down at my phone as I hurriedly leave the training area, rereading George's message.

"Meet me at the cafeteria as soon as you're done your session with the kids. I'll be waiting"

After making a few wrong turns from memory lapses, largely because of the dramatic shift in opulence this place as undergone in the past decade, i finally reach the double doors marked cafeteria.

Although, cafeteria is too mundane a word to describe the lavish eating area behind the doors. Where once there was a drab, sparsely furnished eating area with crude benches and stained tables, there's now a "cafeteria" befitting a classy hotel or cruise ship. I glance around the room, fairly empty, seldom for a few groups of trainees and staff members eating and chatting excitedly. My eyes stop their scan as I notice George sitting at a booth in the corner waving me over.

"Oi, glad you could make it friend! Haha!" He shouts joyfully as I sit down in the plush leather booth. I wonder how any recruit can possibly hope to stay disciplined in such an accommodating environment. My dislike for the place must have been apparent, because George chuckled loudly, motioning to the seat.

"I know, talk about overdoing' it! This is hardly the place to be toughening up some thumb-suckin' greenies - but these changes sure are a perk for us old dogs who come back to visit every now and then!"

I let out a small chuckle, more for the sake of humoring George than anything else. Our eyes meet, and the air around us seems to shift. George leans in over the table, producing a file folder from within his jacket and slides it towards me. I quickly take it and tuck it into my own jacket, shooting glances around to see if anyone was watching us.

"So there's all the info, ya see. Once you read it, you'll hopefully understand why I've come to you. I'll give you the downlow real quick, I gotta train to catch. Have you heard of an organisation called 'The Caretakers'?"

I shake my head in response. They sound familiar for some reason, but I can't place it. George's face scrunches in disapproval.

"It's an atrociously vile organisation, that kidnaps "unique" young boys and girls with specific appearances that are in in high demand among the more eccentric members of the pedophile community. They hold auctions around the country on a near monthly basis, according to our intel. Sickeningly enough, The Caretakers is the largest child sex trafficking organisation on our side of the planet. Their hands are far reaching, and an estimated 3,500 children are taken by them annually…" He trails off, and I see the knuckles of his hand gripping the table turn white. I slightly raise an eyebrow at his strange reaction.

"That's disgusting… but how can I help you? And why are you asking me to assist you so underhandedly?" I probe

George grimaces and leans forward once more.

"Well you see, I recently led a bust on one of their auction houses, and it was a resounding success. We captured 3 traffickers, rescued 7 children, and captured 22 of the bidders - all without incurring a single fatality on our side"

"Impressive. So I assume you questioned the traffickers and bidders you apprehended and got another lead?" I inquire.

"Aye… we found some disturbing, yet promising news… big enough to be able to shut these bastards down for good. After extensive interrogation, one of the traffickers let loose a doozy. He told us that every 8 months, the head of the organisation himself makes his own personal selection of children - strums up a list of candidates for personal use - and has them taken from the same area every year. And can you guess where?"

"...Kunugigaoka?"

"Bingo"

"Okay, so… that's great news. You have a general time, a place, and the element of surprise. I honestly don't know why you're even letting me in on this, George. You're ready to make the curtain call. Where do i fit in to this equation?"

"Well, the scumbag also told us - as expected - that the boss man himself doesn't make an appearance during this selection. After interrogating all three traffickers and cross referencing them, we've pieced together a pretty concrete idea of how this is gonna go down - in one month's time from tomorrow. I hate to admit it, but they're being extremely cautious and cunning about how they go about this. Apparently, his personal selection is made during the busiest time of year for his organisation - and at the same time as many other "business" related pickings - 5 others in fact, identical vehicles that patrol the entire city in a matter of hours and get out immediately after then get their hands on the desired children.

"In other words, you won't know which of the 6 vehicles will be returning to the big cheese, and which ones will be supplying for standard auction houses" I muse aloud

"That's right" George affirms with a grim nod "We've tried interrogating the guys we captured for more info - what type of vehicle, license plates - but they got nothing. Apparently they change the type of vehicle every time, and change their routes every year. The pencil pushers have been trying to think of a concrete method to get around this issue for a week, but to no avail. And quite frankly, neither them nor myself are quite fond of taking a 16.5% chance of success on this one"

I nod my head slowly, deep in thought, "right, because you only get one shot here. You mess up and follow the wrong vehicle, you tip your hand. They'll be extra wary after that, and likely change location. And if that happens, chances are you'll never get another chance at capturing their leader"

"As expected of you Karasuma, you're quick to catch on. Yes that's right - everyone at HQ is in agreement that we only got one chance here… and this investigation has been going on for years, which is the way the higher ups are starting to get cold feet. Most of 'em agree that we should wait longer and gather more intel, let the pencil pushers think of a foolproof strategy, then hit 'em on their next roundup session" He pauses for only a moment: "and at this point, it seems like that's exactly what's going to happen. Of course we've already taken the obvious steps, and have a plan to have multiple units deployed around kunugigaoka - especially in areas with typically having a lot of children, like parks and schools. But we've been doing that for months now, and it's rarely been fruitful. After a few successful tailing operations on our part where we did manage to apprehend the kidnapper or follow them and bust their auction houses, They've become a lot sneakier and cautious, taking convoluted paths, doing multiple drop offs and pickups with different vehicles along the way in order to ensure they aren't followed back to their nests. We've already lost a few kids from failed tailing operations, unfortunately. And I'm sure that they'll be even more elusive when making a pickup for their leader"

"I suppose you can't play the same card too many times" I state solemnly

Yeah I know…" George mutters, and suddenly his whole demeanour changes, as he begins to tremble. "But I…" He continues briefly.

He stops, and slams his fist down towards the table at full force. But he manages to regain his composure just in time to leave his clenched fist to hover a few centimetres above the surface. He leans forward, moisture gathering in his turbulent eyes, and hisses:

"I can't wait, dammit! They… those sick fucks took my niece, Karasuma! My brother's wee little girl, just 9 years old!"

All composure is lost in the man before me, the same man usually brimming with optimism, as he runs both of his trembling hands through his greying hair.

" Fuck George, that's horrible... I'm so sorry you're going through this shit" I reply sympathetically.

"Yeah, well I'm sure it's a lot more horrible for my Niece" he seethes.

To that I have no response, my mind whirring, searching for something to say. I need to stay rational about this.

"When was she taken?" I ask calmly.

"About 75 hours ago" He replies miserably, head hung low

"That's not too long ago, I'm sure she's fine" I say, trying to sound both optimistic and supportive. I reach across the table and put a hand on George's shoulder.

"How can I help? I'll do everything in my power George, I swear it - we'll get her back"

He looks up hopefully, with a trace of hesitation on his face.

"Ah thanks brother… but it's not exactly your help I need"

I raise an eyebrow.

"But didn't you said I was the only one who could help you?"

"Aye…" he breaks eye contact, as if he's ashamed of what he's about to say.

"Look Tadaomi, we've known each other for a long time right? You trust me, right?"

I nod silently. Of course I trust him. I trust him almost as much as I trust myself.

"Well.. as luck would have it, one of the pedophiles we managed to bag was assigned to be one of the pickup van's drivers next month - the boss' personal choice van, at that. After some extensive… interrogation on my part, we managed to get a name out of him - the kid he was assigned to pick up, next month" He continues grimly, staring blankly at the table: refusing to meet my eyes.

My eyes widen.

"Well who is it?" I ask. Well this opens up a whole bunch of possibilities. Whoever this kid is, we just need to keep a close eye on: maybe even try to plant a tracker on him, to ensure that we can safely follow him straight back to -

"Karasuma" George suddenly interrupts my wild train of thought.

"The name of the boy… is Nagisa Shiota…"

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 **A/N**


	23. Chapter 23

**A Darker Path**

TheReaperCometh

 **A/N: I Hope all is well with everyone, and you're all having a good summer so far. Final exams are done! Hallelujah! Which means I can finally avert my wholehearted attention back to this!**

 **Enjoy the chapter, cheers!**

 **Chapter 22**

" **Even Wolves Cry"**

 **POV Karasuma**

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"Is this a joke?" I ask incredulously, as I flip through folder and quickly scan through every page until I freeze in place after coming to a full profile picture of Nagisa, confirming the veracity of his words. I tear the page out of folder and shove it towards George angrily.

'What the hell George! Why would you even ask me for help on this!? Or rather, Nagisa's help, when he's one of their targets!" I hiss.

I can feel the gazes of other people in the rotunda fall on us. George eyes them wearily, motioning for me to lower my voice with his hands.

"Karasuma, please. Keep your voice down. You have to understand-"

"Nagisa's 15 years old, dammit!" I slam my fist into the table "He's had limited training, no experience with real missions. Hell, calling him a "trainee" would be an embellishment! I'm honestly disgusted you would even ask for his involvement. Don't contact me about this again" I hiss as I throw the folder onto the middle of the table and get up to leave.

"No please!" George cries as he seizes my wrist. I immediately wrench it free and turn to face him.

The wrath drains from my eyes, and all the aggressive retorts I had ready get caught in my throat as I look to my friend, tears beginning to trickle down from the corners of his eyes and an expression that could only be described as bleak.

"Please brother, Karasuma I… I know it's wrong… but it's my brother's little girl! If I can't get her back now, I never will! I.. I'd never forgive myself, and neither would my brother!" He lowers his head and visibly slumps lower in his seat. He wipes the wetness from his eyes.

"Aye… I'm sorry about that Karasuma. I should never have asked, I'll try and find some other way…"

I look around the room, and see that everyone is still staring at us. After a few moments of silence, I reach over and pick up the folder from the middle of the table, stashing it back in my jacket.

George looks up at me hopefully "Brother!-"

"Don't thank me yet. Ultimately, it's his decision - if he says no, then that's the end of this, understand?" I clarify sternly.

A wide grin graces his sodden face, and he grabs my hand in a firm handshake

"A-Aye! Of course, brother! I won't forget this! And I'll do everything in my power to make every parameter of this operation as safe as possible!"

"You better" I say, a small smile forming on my lips as I walk away

"Oh and George," I add as I turn back around. A worried look crosses George's face.

"Clean up that ugly mug you call a face, it's a mess right now and you're making a scene"

I joke, motioning to to everyone around us, who immediately look back to their plates.

George smiles and lets out a laugh, wiping his nose,

"Oi, just get outta here, ya cheeky bastard!"

As I turn away for the last time, my smile fades away, and I don't look back again because I know I won't be able to plaster the smile back on.

What the hell am I supposed to do now?

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 **POV Nagisa (10 min earlier)**

"Aaagh…" I let out a sigh of relief, as the hot water trickles down my body, washing away the aches. These sure are nice showers… I think to myself as I admire the immaculate porcelain of the shower stall I find myself in, and well stocked toiletries. much better than the showers at school. I shudder as I remember the last time I went to take a shower at the school - in class 3-E's segregated private change room. The water was cold and murky, and the sketchy marks staining the tub were more than enough to dissuade me from ever wanting to take a shower. If I had, I probably would've emerged dirtier than when I had entered. Ah, memories. Funny, it all seems so long ago that-

"Oi, Nagisa" Suddenly Karma pokes his head around the division separating our stalls.

"Gah! Karma-kun?!" I cry out, mortified. My hands instinctively dart down to my lower region, even though the chance of Karma being able to see anything is pretty low, given all the suds and the steam. A wide grin splits his face at my reaction.

"Relax, I'm not peeping… I already know it's small anyway" He jokes

"Karma! What do you want!" I pout, feeling my face burn up.

"I'm joking, I'm joking, I'm sure it's very big and-"

"KARMA!"

"Haha, sorry! Don't react so hilariously and I won't feel the need to tease you as much, it's that easy! Anywho, just wanted to know if I could borrow some shampoo" He inquires innocently

My left eye twitches in annoyance

"And… you couldn't have just asked me from your own stall to pass it over?"

"Nope!" He answers matter of factly, clearly unwilling or unable to provide a viable answer. I sigh and hand him my bottle of shampoo.

"Thank ya!" He grins childishly before darting back to his stall.

"Such soft looking skin…" I hear him mutter moments later, in a voice just loud enough for me overhear.

"Karma, I'm going to stab you later" I cry out over the divider

"Oh! You heard that? My bad, Nagisa chan…" he says in an incredulous tone.

I know he had said it at that volume intentionally.

A few minutes of silence pass over, As I sit at the bottom of the tub directly under the stream of water. I hug my knees to my chest, relishing in the soothing trickle coursing down the length of my back.

I stare up and close my eyes, feeling the warm drops pelt my face and mat my blue hair to my forehead. Ah, I haven't enjoyed a shower this much in months. Probably not since I first started training with all of E-class for the first time, and my body wasn't used to it. A melancholic feeling washes over me at the recollection of my most recent school year. Korosensei's image flickers through my mind. Then Terasaka, Nakamura, Sugino, Isogai… Kaeno. The list goes on.

I think I'm crying now, but I can't tell the tears apart from the water.

Stop it Nagisa. You have a plan now. You need to keep pushing forward, the past is the past.

I stare back up into the onslaught of water, and cast all thoughts away - allowing my troubles to washed away, carried by the current of water down into the drain.

Sayonara, E-Class, I think to myself with a bitter smile as I stare into the swirling drain.

"Oi, Nagisa, you almost ready to go?" I hear Karma ask.

As if on cue, the water's temperature suddenly drops. I guess we've used a lot of the hot water.

"Hai, I'm getting out now" I respond affirmatively, as I turn the shower off. The sudden lack of warm water streaming over me renders my whole body numb, yearning for the warm water to return. I reach out of the stall and grab my towel. As I pull it back in, I quickly wrap it around my waste. Brr! How quickly the air can sap away 20 minutes worth of warmth. I step out of the stall, seizing my pile of clothes and darting into the nearest bathroom stall before Karma can try anything.

Just as I finish pulling my shirt over my head, I hear Karma's water stop running and two wet footsteps plop onto the tiled floor.

I take extra care in drying my longer hair, before tying it up in the typical fashion. I wait a minute to give Karma time to change before I step out. I almost let out a sigh of relief as I find him fully dressed and sitting on the bench. I was honestly half expecting him to just be standing proudly in the nude, grinning at me. I walk up beside him and start packing my clothes into my gym bag.

"Hey, Nagisa" Karma suddenly speaks up in a curious tone yet troubled tone.

"...yeah?" I reply hesitantly

"How often do you think about them?"

I freeze. There's no question who "them" refers to. What on earth brought this up?

"...um, what makes you ask that..?"

He runs a hand through his damp hair, and looks at me through the corner of his eye with an indecipherable glint in eyes, as if he's erected walls within his irises so that none may see past the surface.

"I was just asking. I... think about them a lot, and I wanted to know if that was weird or something, haha..." he concludes with a nervous laugh as he begins packing his bag.

I can't find the right words. Has Karma been feeling just as tormented and guilty as me? Has my best friend been suffering all alone this entire time, because I've been too clueless to see his pain? Or maybe I was just too fixated on my own emotions. And if that's the case then I feel even worse.

"I.. I think about them every day. More than once, too…our classmates and the good times we spent together this past year are the first thoughts that come to mind in the morning, and the last thoughts to leave before I fall asleep… and even then, they usually follow me into my dreams"

Karma's face is that of a robot's. He remains silent while continuing to pack his bag. I clench my fist in frustration.

"Karma-kun. If you ever want to talk, I'm right here. I know exactly how you feel! So please, don't try and hide everything. And if you don't want to share… then I'll just have to tear your walls down and force you to! Even wolves, just like sheep, can feel shitty sometimes!" I exclaim, managing to freeze the red haired boy in his tracks. He turns to look at me with a surprised expression, obviously taken back by my emotional outburst. I make sure to stare right back at him, channeling as much confidence as I can into my gaze. But before either of us can say anything more, a loud knocking startles us both.

"You boys almost done in there? It's time we head back, unless you two want to be the ones to explain to Irina why we're late again... I'll be out in the car. Don't keep me waiting too long" Karasuma's muffled voice bellows from the other side of the door. As Karma and I recover from our mini heart attacks, we look to each other and laugh exasperatedly.

"Hai hai, we're coming" Karma cries back as he picks up his bag and trudges towards the door.

As he passes by, he whispers something quietly.

"What was that?" I call after him.

Without even turning around, he raises a hand and flips me the finger. I smile.

Yeah, I knew he said "thank you".

 **.**

 **.**

 **.**

 **Pov Karasuma (in the car)**

I find myself unconsciously gnawing on my fingernails - an old habit that had died long ago, but seems to have been resuscitated over the past few anxious days - as I flip through all the files enclosed within the folder George gave to me.

I wish I had before I swore to George that I would let Nagisa decide.

This organisation - The Caretakers - are more heinous than their infamy would have you believe. Their depravity knows no bounds, and quite frankly, just looking over these records makes my stomach lurch in anger and disgust.

There isn't a single part of me that wants Nagisa or Karma involved in this.

But at the same time… George's Niece is at stake, which adds a more subjective personal aspect to this mission. I want to help him.

Suddenly the two back doors open and two masses sit down in unison, shaking the car. I frantically close the folder and hide it between my legs, placing both hands on the steering wheel.

"Took you boys long enough' I say as casually as possible.

"Sorry sir, took awhile for my body to be able to move again" Nagisa mutters.

"You'll get used to it eventually. This was just day one" I offer optimistically, But judging from the pallor of Nagisa's skin, I'm guessing I had put too much emphasis on the 'just day one' part.

"Because it will take a while for your bodies to acclimate to this kind of physical exertion, for the first couple weeks, I think it would be best if we trained every other day, rather than everyday" I reason, looking into the rearview mirror to see their reactions.

They look to each other, Nagisa with a pleading look in his eyes, and Karma shrugs.

"Yeah, that'd probably be best for now" Karma says in an indifferent tone. But I can tell, he was just as daunted as Nagisa by the challenge of training that hard everyday. It's fine, I expected this much to be fair - it would've been unnatural for either of them to be able to keep up with such a brutal routine right away. Suddenly my legs shuffle uncomfortably, and the folder sandwiched between them feels overwhelmingly burdensome.

Should I mention it now? Or maybe I should consult Irina?

Ah, it makes no difference really. I already promised George that I would at least propose the mission to them.

"Hey, you two" I say as I begin to pull out of the parking space. They both remain silent and wait for me to continue.

"If, hypothetically, either of you had a really close friend - someone like a brother to you, who was in desperate need of help: a life or death situation. And you were the only one who could help them… would you?"

"Of course" Nagisa responds prematurely, apparently harboring no skepticism for my bizarre and oddly specific 'hypothetical situation'.

"I wasn't finished", I say. "If you were the only one who could help them, but it meant putting two of your other close comrades in grave danger. Would you still help him?"

"Of course" Nagisa responds just as quickly as before.

"Why?" I ask him, a bit surprised by his decisiveness in what I thought would be a difficult to answer question. "Let me just clarify that the two friends you would be endangering are just as important to you as the one in need of help.

"Of course, I assumed as much. But my answer remains unchanged" Nagisa says in a voice that conveys 'isn't the reason obvious?'. Karma and I have only silence and blank stares to offer in response to that.

Nagisa looks between us expectantly, before his bashful nature kicks in and he shrinks back into his seat, and turns his face towards the window. as he realizes we're waiting for him to elaborate.

"Er, well I was just thinking... if he's your precious friend, your brother, then of course you should be willing to do anything and everything to help him out when he's in trouble. That's what friends are for, right? I don't see how you could call someone a brother if you would be willing to turn a blind eye to their problems… regardless of the complications of circumstance. And well, I just figure that the two friends who would be imperiled would gladly put themselves in danger for you. Because your friends' problems become your problems too, as soon as they ask you for help… and so by extension, that becomes a problem for those two other friends. So there's no reason why they should be unwilling to give it their all in solving this problem ether…" he trails off from his ramblings, leaving Karma and I at a loss for words.

Such an innocent and naive response, I smile inwardly. As expected from someone like him, of course he would be willing to put his life on the line for this.

It's just as I feared, he's going to accept this mission, isn't he?

"Karasuma sensei… that wasn't just a hypothetical situation, was it?" Karma interrupts my troubled thoughts. I look through the rearview mirror as I stop at a red light.

"No… no it wasn't" I reply, revealing the folder from between my legs, and tossing it back between them. Karma is the first to seize it as he flips through the folder quickly. Nagisa, like a child, leans over trying to gaze over Karma's shoulder muttering things like 'Karma-kun, let me see too'. I watch Karma's face contort in disgust and confusion as he reads through the papers. Even Nagisa's expression, which is usually so difficult to interpret, is clearly displaying discomfort and sadness. After a few more minutes, we pull into our driveway, and I turn the ignition off. I turn around in my seat to face them, and see they've reached the last page in the folder, the picture and profile of Nagisa Shiota.

"I'm going to be perfectly candid. I don't think you're ready for this. This mission will be extremely dangerous, and the chance of success -given your lack of experience, and lack of any significant backup, among other factors - is not high. Optimistically, I'd say maybe 10%. Not to mention -"

"I accept" Nagisa interrupts me, handing back the folder.

"Eh?" Karma and I exclaim in unison.

"Nagisa, you need to understand that this isn't some fun, mock assassination to perform with a classful of friends on a supernatural target who wouldn't retaliate. This is a real, genuine, life threatening mission. Not even I will be able to guarantee your safety, and these people won't hesitate to kill you... or worse" I offer sternly, hoping to sway his decision.

Please, Nagisa, for the love of god don't accept this. Maybe in a year or so you'll be ready for something like this, but right now-

"I know the danger. I've read over the file. But sensei… I want to help George! And when I think about the whole situation - hundreds of children taken each year, having their innocence ripped away from them... I just can't help but think" he trails off and his features darken, his voice taking on a grave tone: "that all the sick members of this vile organisation need to be put down for good"

.

.

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 **A/N: N/A lol**


	24. Chapter 24

**A Darker Path**

TheReaperCometh

 **A/N: Hey! Boy another late upload, I hope you guys haven't forgotten about this story XD. But you see, I badly sprained my dominant side's wrist on July 12th in a basketball tournament, but still continued to play because it didn't hurt that much at the time. (Adrenaline is a funny thing). This of course made it worse, and by the time the tournament ended, and I iced it for the first time, it was already disconcertingly purple and sore. It's taken a full two weeks to recover from it, and it was very hard to type on my computer for the better part of the past two weeks! (I tried doing it with one hand, but after realizing I was typing at a painful 15 wpm, I decided it would be better to just wait). So yeah, that's been my life the past little while lol. (It was worth it though, my team made it to the semi finals :P) Anyway, I hope everyone's summer is going well, and here's a nice long chapter in a feeble attempt to make up for lost time!**

 **Enjoy**

 **Chapter 23: Temptress**

 **POV Karma**

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 **.**

 **.**

"Nagisa, I need you to consider the situation a little more, and the dangers that come with it…" as I listen Karasuma's implorations, I study Nagisa's face, trying to find even the smallest trace of hesitation or doubt reflected in his features, trying to gauge the efficacy of Karasuma's words. There is none, unfortunately, and I can already tell that Karasuma's just wasting his breath. I let out a deep breath, turning my head to look out the window. I'm not even going to try pitching in on the conversation to try and talk sense into my moronic friend.

"Karma, tell him how crazy and dangerous it is" Karasuma entreats. He must have realized he was having no luck swaying Nagisa's choice. What, so he thinks that Nagisa will change his mind just because he hears it from me? No, Nagisa is fully intent on doing this. So I might as well just side with him now to avoid unnecessary drama between us.

I shrug in response to Karasuma,

"Meh, how bad can it be? Just a bunch of sick weirdos who've probably never dealt with resistance before. We've dealt with trained soldiers and an absurdly fast alien-like being, so we should be fine against a bunch of molesters, right?"

Nagisa beams at me, and the words 'thank you' are all but written on his face.

"Of course we'll be fine Karma! See sensei, we can handle this!"

Karasuma's face shuffles through about 5 different expressions - anger, annoyance, frustration, exasperation, and… hopelessness, I suppose. He turns back around in his seat, facing the steering wheel, and remains absolutely still in what I assume to be contemplative silence. Nagisa and I look to each other, as if daring the other to say something. But before we can, Karasuma opens the car door and swings his legs out.

"Fine, I'll let George know of your decision. But just so you're aware, you two won't be able to stay side by side during this mission, right? Karma isn't on their list, so they won't be kidnapping him. Once you're in Nagisa, you'll be on your own for a while until your final position is confirmed"

"Well, obviously" Nagisa replies, as if someone had just asked him if oxygen was necessary to live, "I expected as much".

Karasuma shoots him one final dumbfounded glare before exiting the car, incoherent profanities escaping his mouth in disjointed whispers as he rubs his temples. Nagisa and I watch Karasuma walk towards the house, like two young children watching their father whom they know they angered. We both wince as Karasuma pauses only for a moment on his front steps, taking the time to kick the bush adjacent to the path, spraying leaves and twigs into the air.

"What did that bush ever do to him?' I mutter jokingly. What a rare sight, to see our generally emotionless teacher display his ire so explicitly. Kind of unnerving, to be honest.

Nagisa simply gulps anxiously.

"Well come on, I'm sure Irina's got some food ready for us" I say to bring Nagisa out of his stupor. If I had not offered any motivation, I feel like Nagisa would have stayed in this car, safe and away from Karasuma, for a while longer.

"Yeah, I bet..." He mutters, as we both open our doors simultaneously.

 **.**

 **.**

 **.**

"What's wrong?" I hear bitch-sensei's voice resonate from the kitchen, as Nagisa and I quietly scurry in.

"What's wrong? Nothing's wrong" I hear Karasuma say in his usual, relaxed voice. My, who knew that kicking a bush would have such a calming effect?

I should try it someday.

"Yeah, right. I can tell something's up, Mr. Robot. Your eyes are narrowed even more than usual."

Silence is Karasuma's only response. As expected of Irina sensei, I suppose. Her observational and perceptual skills are second to none. Between her and Nagisa, me and Karasuma are going to have a hard time keeping secrets around here.

Nagisa and I walk through the entrance to the well lit kitchen, and the sweet aroma of food lures us over to the table.

"Okay, you two: what's got him in such a sour mood?" Irina asks, pointing to the rigid man behind her currently washing his hands.

"Good evening, nice to see you too Irina" I say sardonically. Irina sticks her tongue out and rolls her eyes, as only a mature adult can.

"Eh, I may have agreed to do something that Karasuma advised against…" Nagisa offers quietly

"'Advised against' is a very conservative may of putting it" I add, eliciting a nervous laugh from Nagisa.

"I'll tell you all about after we eat, thanks for the food" Karasuma says curtly before sitting down beside me. Well, that's the end of that I suppose. Irina glances between me and Nagisa hoping for some hint - we simply shrug dismissively, making her pout momentarily before giving up. Thankfully, the stiff atmosphere dissipates quickly as we all start chowing down and enjoyed Irina's incredible food. Stories of past missions were told by Irina and Karasuma, and one could say they were almost competing to convince everyone who has had a more dangerous career. Then the conversation shifted towards more recent developments in our lives: how our first day of training went, when school would be starting again - a topic Nagisa and I groaned at, especially when it was revealed that school would be resuming in one week. As we finish off the last of the food on our plates, the topic of training resurfaces when Karasuma suddenly asks us how we intend to hone our skills by ourselves. After receiving confused looks from both Nagisa and I, he - being the oh so wise, bastion of knowledge that he is - starts expounding on the importance of self growth and diligence.

"Sure, guided exercise with a coach and partner is great, but that's only a few hours a day" He begins . "There's 24 hours in a day-"

"Eh?! Nani?!" I exclaim at such a shocking, contrarian revelation. Nagisa and Irina both tightly purse their lips in order to constrain their laughter. Before I can say anything to push them over the edge, I feel a sharp flick to my temple which makes me wince.

Dammit, I forgot I was sitting next to him. Also, why is every single part of Karasuma superhumanly strong? My temple throbs as though I had been flicked by the incredible hulk.

"As I was saying: there are 24 hours in a day - 8 of them will be spent sleeping, 4 of them training with me, school will take up about 7. Assuming then that you spend a negligible amount of time eating and going to the bathroom, with an hour of homework each evening… that leaves 4 hours left of your average day unaccounted for. And if you two are really determined to become assassins, I expect two of those four hours to be dedicated to personal training efforts" He summarizes.

"How can you two go about that? Can you come up with your own training - that is actually challenging and insightful - to further yourselves?"

Good God I think he spent too much time in the shoes of a school teacher. Nagisa and I exchange looks. Why do I feel like Karasuma has practiced this speech before.

After a few moments of silence, proving that Nagisa and I have no answer to that question, Irina decides to chime in:

"How about we do some quality 1 on 1 training then, two hours a night!"

"You mean… Karma and I sparring?"

Karasuma shakes his head "No, they need personal training away from one another. There will be many times - in the near future, apparently" he emphasises, glaring daggers at a shrinking Nagisa: "when they won't be able to work together directly. And they've spent a lot of time sparring together already, I don't want them getting too accustomed to each other's fighting styles - otherwise, they'll be in for a real surprise when they face other, differently disciplined adversaries".

I regret to admit that he does actually have a point there. Hmmm… then maybe-

"No no no that's not what I meant, silly" Irina claims. "I MEANT that I would have a little pow-wow and training session with Nagisa, and you, Karasuma, could have a two hour one on one session with Karma. Obviously, this would make sense because Nagisa is more similar to myself, while Karma is almost a carbon copy of you when you were younger. I can teach Nagisa everything I know in the arts or coercion, distraction, and trickery, while you can teach Karma how to be better at clobbering people!"

"Irina, I don't just 'clobber people' there are many other aspects of-"

"Yeah yeah I know, I just couldn't think of it. Putting that aside - it's a good idea, right?"

I look to Karasuma for a reaction. He merely sits there pensively, staring right at Irina across the table as if he was trying to determine the meaning of life within her eyes.

"I for one, think it's a great idea," I start to say: "I think it's about time Nagisa learns how to properly kiss men"

"Karma!" A blushing Nagisa outcries, before looking to Irina worriedly as if asking 'wait, I wouldn't actually be learning that, right?'

Irina merely shrugs, a devious smile on her face.

"Hey now, Nagisa! You never know when it'll come in handy!" she announces, sending a subtle wink my way.

As I relish in the look of absolute embarrassment and horror that has graced Nagisa's now blushing face, I've never felt so happy to have bitch-sensei around.

"You know, I think that's actually a pretty good idea Irina, let's try it starting tomorrow" Karasuma affirms nonchalantly, as if completely oblivious to the bout of teasing that just unfolded.

Irina claps enthusiastically like a little girl, before happily getting up from her chair and collecting our empty dishes.

Karasuma's phone buzzes suddenly, and a grave expression crosses his face. It doesn't take a genius to figure out who the message is from. Even Nagisa is eyeing him anxiously, eager to find out what George has to say.

Feeling the weight of our intense gazes upon him, Karasuma glances up from his phone and holds it up matter of factly.

"It's from George, but it seems you already presumed as much. Nagisa, are you absolutely sure you want to do this"

With a silent nod, Nagisa affirms his volition.

"Alright, then I suppose I'll inform him of your participation" he retorts in a less than eager tone, before getting up from his chair and travelling up the stairway to his bedroom. As soon as a door is heard closing upstairs, Irina races over to us like a child on christmas morning, seating herself eagerly next to Nagisa and taking his hands into her own. As expected Nagisa becomes immediately flustered, eyes darting about before landing on me pleadingly. I shrug in response.

"Soooo, what was that about? What has my favorite blue haired deviant gotten involved in this time?" She questions fervently. At first I don't see why she's so excited, but I suppose that the brief exchange between Karasuma and Nagisa just now would certainly appear surreptitious and promising of lucrative gossip to a third party.

"Er, Irina sensei I don't know if I appreciate being called a deviant, but you see, well, George-"

"George? Who's that?" Irina presses. I can tell Nagisa's mind is racing too quickly, as he wiggles his hands within Irina's iron clasp, to be able to come up with a good summary.

"Basically, the niece of one of George's old friends, George, got kidnapped by a pedophile organisation named 'the caretakers", and Nagisa agreed to allow himself to be captured by them in about a month's time or something and rescue her. And it can only be Nagisa, because he was also coincidentally on their hit list to begin with, so he's the sole candidate capable of doing this job".

Irina's eager face becomes more pensive, and a smug smile crosses her lips.

"While I can't say I understand the full scope of this situation it sounds to me like…" she then pounces on Nagisa's, wrapping her arms around him, nearly causing them to fall out of the chair

"You got your very first mission, Nagisa! Ooooooooo I'm so proud of you, you're growing up so fast! That reminds me of when I got my first solo mission - I was 13, tasked with the assassination of an ex-mafia drug lord in Cancun: oh wait, no that was my SECOND mission,my first one was-"

"Mmmmmph!" Nagisa's panicked, muffled voice cries out from Irina's cleavage.

Without lessening her grip one bit, she asks in a curious tone: "Speak up Nagisa-kun, I can't hear you"

I grin at the laughable situation

"Irina, I think you're suffocating him with your uh… chest" I barely manage to spit out before I break out in uncontrollable laughter.

"Oh!" Irina cries out, practically leaping out of Nagisa's lap and back into her chair. Once the pillowy mounds are removed, Nagisa greedily gulps in a lungful of air. I stare incredulously at his face, a shade of red the likes of which I've never seen - partly from deoxygenation, I'm sure, but probably more from the fact that he just had a pair of double D melons thrusted into his face.

"Ahaha…" Irina laughs, "sorry 'bout that, sometimes I forget how big they are" she says with a tinge of womanly embarrassment.

I lean back in my chair and gaze up at the ceiling, "Irina, that isn't even the first time you've done that to Nagisa-chan. I oughtta call the police on you for sexually assaulting a minor, sensei. Or maybe that was just your initiation into "The Caretakers"?" I quip.

"Hardy-har" Irina responds indignantly, crossing her arms: "I'd like to see you walk around with boobs as big as these every day and not get into situations like that occasionally!"

At that I can't help but laugh, and soon after Irina and even Nagisa burst out in laughter as the sheer absurdity of Irina's hypothetical challenge sinks in.

"All jokes aside…" Irina starts, recovering from her fit of laughter: "this truly is a momentous occasion, Nagisa! Congratulations!"

Nagisa's eyes light up in response

"Eh? So you aren't going to try and tell me it's a bad idea, or that I'm not ready?" He asks incredulously.

"Why would I? I'm not some stick in the mud like Karasuma. I myself was even younger when I did my first mission. Besides, I've seen what you can do: this sort of mission should be a cinch for someone of your caliber!"

Nagisa blushes and shuffles embarrassedly from the sudden praise.

"A-arigatou" he mutters.

I on the other hand, am on the verge of vomiting after hearing that spiel.

"And between you and me…" Irina whispers in a hushed tone as she leans over the table. Nagisa and I both naturally lean forward as well.

"I think the reason why Karasuma's raining on the parade is because he's just trying to fill in his new role as a father" she informs us, winking to us both before leaning back in her chair.

Her words send a strange tingling down my spine. 'Father' typically has a negative connotation in my mind, given my shitty parents. But now that I can associate it with Karasuma, the word seems a lot less… bad, if that makes sense. Well, I know that Irina was directing those words more towards Nagisa, as he's the one actually being adopted… I on the other hand, am just a guest. I eye Nagisa, laughing warmly at the prospect of having sensei as his new dad, in a sort of crestfallen envy. Part of me wishes I could be apart of this happy family.

Suddenly, Nagisa looks directly at me. I can feel him peering into my soul. Shit! I try desperately to hide my feelings of envy and sadness under my typical sarcastic mask, but it appears I was too slow in doing so, as Nagisa reaches over and places a hand on my shoulder.

"Karma-kun, you're like a brother to me. Let's keep our chins up moving forward, okay?"

My eyes widen, but I'm quick to recover, as I bat his hand away off my shoulder.

"D-dumbass! Don't say weird shit like that out of the blue" I retort, though my quiet tone betrays its sincerity. Also, I realize, that line sounded totally tsundere.

Nagisa merely beams back at me. Irina reaches over and clasps Nagisa's cheek

"Aw what an adorable thing to say, Nagisa!" She twits

"Irina sensei… don't talk to me like a little kid… and ow! Stop pinching my face so hard!" he pouts in response. Irina finally releases his cheek, before getting up and walking towards the stairway.

"And where are you going?" I ask her as she takes her first step up the stairs.

"I'm going to see if maybe I can help old grumpster relax"

"Just make sure you keep it quiet, I don't want to hear any of your primal noises" I say with a smirk. Nagisa gasps at my implication. Irina's cheeks turn bright red.

"N-not like that, you brat. J-jeez!" She cries out as she storms up the stairs in a fluster.

"Karma-kun… why must you say things like that..?" Nagisa inquires, though his humoured tone betrays him.

To that, all I can do us laugh

 **.**

 **.**

 **.**

 **POV Karasuma**

I throw my phone on the nightstand and turn the lamp off. I kept my message to George fairly short, so as to implicitly express my lack of enthusiasm for this whole ordeal.

That Nagisa, what the hell can I do with a kid like that? And now, he's my 'kid' in a more meaningful way than just a student. I fall down on my bed in thought

I think the worst thing about this whole thing is… I know I won't be able to protect him. Neither can Karma, or Korosensei. He'll be all alone, and I don't think he realizes how overwhelming it can be, when you realize you're truly a lone wolf, the sole protector of your life. I've grown used to it - even come to appreciate it. But the first time I was thrown into a mission alone by myself - no George, Dunstan - another one of my original trainers and partners - or any other operative for that matter: It felt crushingly lonely, and while at that point I was already pretty confident in my own abilities, the little bit of doubt I had from my own lack of experience made itself known.

'One wrong move, and I'm dead - no safety net, no hand holding, just me, myself, and I' I remember thinking clearly. Suddenly, a shadow flickers in the corner of my eye, obstructing the crack of light seeping into my room from under the doorway.

"Come in" I call out tiredly without lifting my head from the pillow, already knowing who it is.

As I thought, Irina pokes her head in "Oh! It's so dark in here - were you trying to sleep? Sorry to bother you, guess I'll just leave then" She starts to close the door again.

"Wait' I call out, and she pokes her head back in eagerly.

"Don't pretend like you didn't notice the lights were off when you walked up to the door" I accuse her.

"Hey, do you really think I'm that rude!" She cries out in loud whisper, swinging my door open and stepping inside, completely contradicting her plea of innocence.

"Uh huh… what's going on then" I ask, wanting to get to the point so that I can go back to sleep as fast as possible.

She grins to me and makes her way over to my bed, taking a seat on the edge.

"I just wanted to know why Nagisa's mission has got your panties in a twist" She declares with a smile and a pat on my stomach.

So there I sat, in the dark, for 10 minutes, explaining the entire situation and why I feel Nagisa isn't ready for a solo mission of this magnitude.

"I see…" she says as I conclude.

I smile inwardly. "Oh finally, someone else sees just how dangerous this will be-"

"But I think you're getting the wrong idea here" She adds.

"What do you mean?" I ask, annoyed to discover that she too disagrees with my sentiments.

"If it was anyone else from class 3-E I would totally share your feelings on this. But Nagisa, he's different. You say your biggest concern is his lack of experience, but I just don't see the truth in that. He's had plenty of experience; training with you for months, planning countless assassinations on korosensei, battling Takaoka - a well trained, disciplined, albeit psychotic militant - in single handed combat, his recent operation of subterfuge against trained military soldiers in the forest on his way to korosensei that night. In your mind, you just think of those things as 'class activities'... but they were all real, Karasuma. He learned from them, got hurt during them, and grew from them. Not to mention all the recent hardships and dealings with death he's experienced in the last two weeks… he's not the same little boy you walked in on last year"

Am I really worrying so much for nothing?

"Plus," she adds "you have another month to whip him into shape for this thing if you still don't recognize his readiness right now!"

"Hm, I guess I'm worrying a bit much after all. Thanks, Irina" I admit in resignation. Maybe I am just overreacting.

"No problem!" She beams happily. She doesn't make any effort to get off my bed though and leave, despite our conversation having met a clear end.

"Er, another early start tomorrow, better get to sleep…" I add, hoping she'll take the hint.

"Oh! Right, of course! Guess I'll be on my way out then, even though I'll just be coming back tomorrow morning… seems terribly inefficient, doncha think?" She inquires in a seductive tone.

Is she really..? I… suppose I'll let her stay the night. If I continue to reject her, things'll only get awkward.

"Fine, you can stay the night" I concede, to which she grins happily

"Wonderful! Then, why don't we-"

"Whoah whoah whoah" I cut her off "let me make one thing clear: I said you could stay the night, but that doesn't include… shenanigans. Capiche?" She nods somewhat unenthusiastically, but with a straight face as though she was expecting this answer.

"Of course! No funny business from me, I'll be a good girl! Cross my heart and hope to die" she assures me, literally making an X over her chest with an index finger.

I roll over to 'my side' of the bed, turning my back to her. The rustling of fabric followed with the easily recognizable sound of clothes being haphazardly discarded on the floor sends an instinctual tingle down my spine, the likes of which I get when I feel an enemy is about to attack. I hesitantly turn my head to look over at her. I can immediately feel my face burn up.

"Irina I thought you said no funny business!" I say, trying to keep a cool tone.

"Hey, nothing funny about this! I'm not even naked! What, did you expect me to hop into bed fully clothed - you yourself are just in an undershirt and boxers!"

Jeez, some women sure do have a knack for shifting the blame.

"And besides…" she continues in a bubbly voice "you don't seem to mind, seeing as how you can't seem to look away"

I blink and look away quickly, turning my back to her once more. At this she giggles.

"Karasuma, you're so adorable, like a little boy, when you get all flustered!" I feel the mattress depress slightly as Irina slinks in next to me

"Ah this bed is so comfortable! I don't see how you could force yourself out of bed every morning at 6:00!" She exclaims happily, and I feel her squirming euphorically to nestle in.

"Don't get used to it" I respond gruffly.

"Hmp! Only time will tell" comes the indignant reply.

"Hahaha. Well, goodnight then" I laugh quietly at her adamant tenacity.

"Goodnight sweetie!"

"One step at a time"

"Alright alright!"

.

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.

 **30 min later**

Shit I can't sleep. I just can't get the Image of Irina from earlier out of my head! Letting her stay was a mistake, she's so distracting! When she took her clothes off earlier and I looked over at her. I consider myself to be a very 'in control' kind of person, with a low libido… but god damn, Irina could probably tempt even the most devout monks. The moonlight from outside reflecting off her beautiful ivory skin and setting her angelic blonde hair aglow - the glistening of her delicate lips and the alluring glint in her stormy eyes. Not to mention her revealing, velvet-lace undergarments - which I'm sure she wore specifically with the possibility of sharing a bed with me in mind, the little succubus - leaving no curve unaccentuated, and leaving very little to the imagination. Just having gawked at her for 15 seconds was enough to burn the image of her figure in my mind and keep my thoughts straying from the wholesome path. I take a deep breath and sigh, trying to think of anything else to distract me from thinking of her. It's useless however, as her quiet breathing is all I can focus on at the moment, and from that, all my brain can focus on is imagining the rise and fall of her… impressive chest.

Well Irina, it seems you've won this round. I give an inch and you take a mile. So what do I do now? Do I keep giving mile after mile, or just refuse to budge at all? If you had asked me a few days ago, the answer would've seemed… but now I'm not so sure. With all these thoughts circling my tired brain, I finally manage to push them all out and fall asleep. My last waking thought, oddly enough, was realizing that I had subconsciously rolled over to face her at some point.

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 **A/N hope you enjoyed this chapter! See you in a couple weeks!**


	25. Chapter 25

**A Darker Path**

TheReaperCometh

 **A/N: Hey look! An update that's actually on time! Who would have expected that?**

 **Enjoy!**

 **Oh, and if you're a fan of a certain Great Tomb of Nazarick, you may find the A/N at the bottom interesting :p**

 **Chapter 24**

" **In the Dead of Night"**

 **POV Nagisa**

 **(a few nights later)**

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After hours of tossing and turning, I can safely say that the only thing I've accomplished tonight is getting myself nice and uncomfortable in a nightmare induced sweat… though I suppose I would've actually had to have been asleep in the first place for a nightmare, so I guess that isn't entirely correct. How can sleep - something so mandatory, upon which we are biologically dependant - be so elusive, despite my eyes' desperate attempts to keep the curtains drawn?

"It's fine, I didn't want to sleep anyway…" I mumble sarcastically as I heave myself out of bed.

Guess I'll do what I always do when I can't sleep - which happens more often than I'd care to acknowledge. You'd think after all these long days of rigorous training and exercising, every fiber of my being would be embracing the mattress every night. And while my body does always feels like a sack of bricks at the end of the day, my mind, on the other hand, is constantly whirring with thoughts that are… uncooperative with sleep. Some nights, I even find myself begging the voices in my head for even just a bit of clemency. More often than not, like tonight, that doesn't help.

Guilt is an unforgiving patron, even if it is irrationally founded. But then again, when has any emotion ever been 'rational'?

I kick off the covers and scamper over to the window, slowly cracking it open. The night is cool, and I shiver euphorically as the fresh air blows loftily over my sweltering body. The world is cloaked in an impregnable darkness, as the bashful crescent moon refuses to poke its head out from behind the thick blanket of clouds. If not for the cones of light projected along the streets, the outside world would be completely unobservable. At this time of night, the streets are devoid of all life: after all, who could possibly be insane or troubled enough to be up at this hour? Still, the lack of movement or sound can almost make you wonder if time itself has stopped. The only piece of evidence which might reassure you otherwise is the movement of clouds in the sky, which can be noticed from watching the stars that appear, and those that subsequently disappear as a result of the shifting thicket of wispy clouds. I love nights like this.

Grabbing the top of the window frame, I hoist myself up and perch onto the window sill in a squatting position. Now that I'm outside, the air has gone from refreshing to chilly, and I regret not having grabbed a hoodie to pull over. Wearing nothing but a white undershirt and blue underwear is hardly appropriate for early spring nights. With a nimble bob and weave, I make my way out, and hoist myself up once more, this time onto the roof above my bedroom's window. I sigh satisfyingly at my successful endeavour and lay down on the sloped roof, resting my head upon my folded-back arms.

Nights like this, when the whole world feels static, are really the only times when I can get a grip and come to terms with my hectic and unorthodox lifestyle. Lately I feel like I'm just always playing catch up with myself, constantly wondering about the 'what if's' and the 'maybe's'.

That's not to say that I'm questioning my decision to become assassins with Karma: because that's probably the only aspect of my life that I'm certain is right. But pretty much every other component of my life feels outlandish and crazy. I wish I could sleep a bit more.

Speaking of sleep, I wonder how Karma's been managing to pull that off. A selfish part of me hopes that he too is having troubles sleeping at night, so that I'm not alone in my suffering. Plus, I may start to question his humanity even more than I already do if he's actually managing to sleep like a baby every night, after all that's happened.

"Fancy meeting you up here" a voice calls out from behind me

My heart leaps out of my chest, and, losing my balance, I nearly plummet off the roof. While a second story fall wouldn't kill me, it sure wouldn't be a pleasant experience at this time of day. I look back at the culprit with an accusing glare.

"Karma! You!-"

"Stop being so noisy, people are trying to sleep" he interjects, finishing with a yawn.

I pause momentarily to readjust my voice down to a harsh whisper.

"You almost made me fall off the roof! And I almost had a heart attack! What are you doing up here?"

"Isn't it obvious?" He shrugs, unfazed by my annoyance. In fact, his gaze has remained fixed to the sable sky since we started talking.

"I'm up here for the same reason you are. You think you're the first person ever to find solace in the cosmos when they can't sleep?"

To that rhetoric, I have no counter.

"Touche… I guess I misjudged you" I grumble as I clammer up the roof and plop myself right next to Karma. He looks at me through the corner of his eyes as I nestle in beside him, and despite the darkness I can see him arch his eyebrow

"Here I thought you had been sleeping soundly all these nights" I explain shamefully. To think I actually believed that Karma had been managing to sleep perfectly, I feel bad to have underestimated his emotions that badly. He has feelings too, I guess, something which I often forget given his aloof demeanour. As if reading my mind, Karma snorts:

"Yeah, I wish. But no, my brain would rather fixate on every horrible incident we've gone through recently. Almost makes me wish I could just forsake my humanity, y'know?"

His tone indicates he wasn't serious, but I choose to answer anyway.

"Yeah, I know what you mean…" I offer somberly.

"So what's on your mind tonight?" He asks. I pause for a moment, thinking of the right way to answer. Truth is, I don't want to talk about it. I come up here to escape that stuff.

"I think the better question would be, what isn't on my mind?" I retort evasively.

Karma smiles and nods empathetically, as his gaze remains fixed on the murky sky.

I close my eyes and take another deep breath. I can already feel my mind being cleansed of worries and doubt, as the refreshing air instills a carefree sense of tranquility. I yawn tiredly, and I'm pleasantly reminded of how heavy my eyelids are. I think I'll be able to go back inside and sleep soon. But being alone up here, with Karma, I remember something that's been gnawing at the back of my head that I've been meaning to ask him.

"Karma-"

"Nagisa-"

We both speak up at the same time, and then blink in surprise at each other.

"Er sorry, you go first… ehehe" I stutter nervously.

"No no, go ahead" Karma says, with a 'take it away' motion of his hand.

"Ah it's not that important… just a dumb question I've been meaning to ask you for a while, I guess.."

"Oh? Shoot" He rejoinders with a curious cock of his head.

"Well, I guess I've just been wanting to ask, you know… what your parents are like?"

"That seems like a rather pointless question" Karma quips after a moment silence, and the venom in his tone freezes my blood. It seems I've stepped on a landmine.

"Well, I've just been curious as to what kind of people could create such a conniving, arrogant, and self proclaimed 'witty' bastard such as yourself" I joke hurriedly trying to diffuse his blatantly sour mood. Karma exhales tiredly and looks to the sky once more for inspiration.

"My dad was an abusive, selfish prick, and my mother, an ignorant and neglectful bitch. The two of them never gave a shit about me, and never will. 'Nuff said, really" he answers bitterly. I'm too stunned by the harshness of his words to react. What can I possible say after such a volatile response? I swallow uncomfortably.

"I-I'm sorry, I didn't realize you had such a bad relationship with them. I was just a little curious..."

"Hey, I'm not mad at you or anything, it's fine", he shrugs, "but I'd rather just not talk about it from now on"

"Right, of course…" an awkward silence drapes over us, and the night seems all the more bleak.

"Oh yeah, so what were you going to say earlier?" I decide to speak up after the silence becomes unbearable.

"Hm?" The sleepy red haired boy muses in confusion

"Y'know, when we both spoke up at the same time and then you let me ask my 'pointless' question first"

"Oh right…"

"Oh right… what?" I press impatiently.

"Ah, I was just going to ask if you remember that little bet we made on the night we forced our way through the forest to see korosensei one final time"

as if on cue, a merciless gust of wind rushes by, carrying with it a somber ambiance and chilling me to the bone

But as to the 'little bet' Karma's referring to…

"Little bet?" I ask innocently.

"The bet we made on who, between you and I, would incapacitate more soldiers that night, and the promise you made to me as a result of MY victory" he elaborates with a victorious grin.

A wave of recollection washes over me as I remember the conversation we had.

That's right, I had completely forgotten: I have to do one thing, no matter what it is, that Karma tells me to do. That was the bet, I realize with horror.

"Oh.. that...dammit, I suppose you want to cash in on that sooner rather than later?" I probe, scrunching my face sourly as I think of all the embarrassing pranks, most of which involving cross dressing, I could be forced into.

"No, don't worry about it" Karma says mysteriously. Then with a more grave tone, he adds: "I plan to save that card for when the time is right"

Taken a little aback by his serious tone, I gulp.

"And when, in your sick, twisted mind, would be a right time?"

Karma smiles grimly before shrugging and turning to face my directly.

"I have no idea yet. Just… I'll use it for something meaningful"

"Meaningful… I hope cross dressing doesn't fit into that category" I joke as my mind races. Karma chuckles emptily, a reaction I was not expecting.

"It doesn't" He answers honestly, and I eye him perplexedly. He notices my dumbfounded look and then waves his hand.

"Don't bother giving it much thought, I just wanted to remind you of your promise. You still promise that when I do ask something of you, you'll definitely do it without hesitation, right?"

"Well, I lost the bet, didn't I?" I grumble, expecting to be met with a belittling smirk. But to my astonishment, I'm instead met with a very serious glare.

"Just promise me again, Nagisa. That you'll definitely do it, whatever it is, without hesitation"

Feeling pressured by his unblinking gaze, I decide to answer sincerely.

"Uh, yeah, of course, I've never been one to go back on my word. I promise I'll do whatever it is you ask of me with no hesitation"

His eyes bore into mine for a while longer, as if trying to judge my honesty. What is with him? He's never this serious. It was just a stupid little bet anyway, right? Finally satisfied with my answer, his face relaxes and he turns back to face the sky.

"Good" he concludes, leaving me to brood with baseless interpretations of his cryptic words.

"Oh yeah, how's your personal training with Irina going?" He asks innocently, as if the foreboding conversation we just had never happened. I guess I'll drop it for now.

"Ah, that… it's certainly unique"

"Well, you can't just leave me hanging after such a tantalizing description"

"Ehhh?! I don't wanna talk about it, it's kinda embarrassing!" I look away from him as I feel my face burn up.

"Well. Now. I. Ab-so-lute-ly. Have. To. Know" He demands, poking my ribs after every syllable.

As a ticklish person, I squirm helplessly before bolting upright in a fit of giggles to escape his torment. I look back at him, a playful smirk on his lips.

"Karma, you jerk! You know I'm ticklish. What if I had rolled off the roof or something?" I pout teasingly.

Karma just shrugs.

"If you had rolled off the roof? Eh, I'd probably just laugh at you"

In his relaxed position, I sock him in the gut before he has any chance to react.

"Urk!" He grunts as he sits upright.

"Oi, Nagisa, if you wanted to be thrown off the roof so badly, why didn't you just say so?" He threatens.

"Hey, that was just a little payback. Now we're even!"

My cries are ingored qs Karma gets up and grabs both my ankles. In one swift motion, I'm lifted off the ground and the world is suddenly upside down. By the time I realize what's going on, I'm dangling over the side of the roof - one slip away from face planting about twenty feet.

"Gah!" I cry out and try to squirm away

"Careful Nagisa, don't squirm too much or I may just… drop you!" He exclaims as he releases one of my ankles, making me drop a few inches.

"Karma! Let me go already!"

"Do you really want me to?"

"You know what I mean!"

"Ah-"

" 'Ah' what?!" I exclaim nervously, peering down at the ground which seems miles below me. I wouldn't put it past Karma to drop me.

"Ah-" Karma stutters once more

"Oh come on, don't do anything as corny as faking a sneeze you loser!" I cry out in protest

"Achoo!" He exclaims, and I feel him release my ankle. I feel the uncomfortable weightlessness you feel when falling. I close my eyes and cover my head with my arms to brace for the impact, cursing Karma in a million different ways and-

After falling about two and a half feet, I feel two hands grasp my angles once more, and I'm promptly pulled back up on the roof.

"Ha… ha… you jerk. A fake sneeze, really? That's... the best you could do?" I pant out, on my hands and knees as I recover.

Karma cackles in amusement, satisfied with my panic.

"I don't always have to be original, do I? My only regret is that I didn't get to see the look on your face." He justifies as he lays back down on the roof, turning his attention once more to the sky.

Just as I'm about to flop over on my back as well, when I notice something odd about a hundred metres down the road..

A black SUV, travelling at a near snail's pace. Its headlights are off, which aside from its underwhelming speed, is the most unnatural thing about it. I've only noticed it now because it just entered under a streetlight beam.

"Hey Karma, look at-"

"The vehicle? Yeah I noticed it a minute ago" he replies, raising his head to observe it once more. We watch it for another moment before it comes to a halt right in the middle of the road in front of our house.

"Karma…" I start worriedly as the hairs on the nape of my neck stick up.

"Yeah, I'm getting a bad vibe from that. You don't suppose it's just a coincidence right?"

One of the back doors of the SUV opens, and we both instinctively scurry to the other side of the roof and spy over the peak.

Although it's quite dark, I've been out here for a while so my eyes have grown accustomed to the darkness. A slender leg bound in leather and a high heel boot steps out of the vehicle, and soon after the full body of a tall woman emerges. It's too dark to discern any remarkable features about her. The metallic object in her hands, however, is easily discernable and it stiffens every muscle in my body.

"Is that a.."

"Gun?" Karma finishes calmly "yep. Looks like a fully automatic, too. I guess that means they didn't just accidentally happen to stop right in front of us.

Just then, the other 3 doors open, and 3 other figures quietly climb out. Based on the size of their forms, it looks like it's two men and two women. They're all carrying guns.

Karma puts a hand on my shoulder and I jump skittishly.

"Nagisa, climb through the window there and wake up Karasuma and Irina. If these guys have 'business' with us, we'll definitely need Karasuma's expertise to get out of this alive"

"What about you then?"

"I'm waiting here to watch them a bit longer, and I plan to sneak attack them from above once you three get their attention" And with that, he practically shoves me back towards Karasuma's window. Just as I'm about to start climbing down, I keenly notice something else which sends a chill down my spine.

Another black SUV, identical to the first, parked in the street directly behind our house as well. I can tell there isn't anybody in it, which means, terrifyingly enough, that whoever was in it is already on foot.

They may even already be at the house!

In which case I need to hurry and wake up Karasuma and Irina!

I hang myself down from the roof, and find the small ledge outside Karasuma's window with my feet. After confirming my feet are firmly planted, I release the grip of the roof and quietly squat outside the window. I try to peer inside, but leave it to Karasuma to have his bedroom window tinted.

I slowly crack it open halfway and silently lower myself in, landing expertly in balled feet without even the slightest creak of the floor.

Click.

I freeze from the harrowing, unmistakable sound just inches from my head

The cocking of a gun.

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 **A/N: Hope you enjoyed it. Check back in a couple weeks to see what happens to Nagisa, and who the shooter is :p**

 **P.S On an unrelated note, I currently have another fanfiction in the works based on one of my current favorite animes and light novel series, Overlord. Of course, this assclass fanfic takes priority above it right now, and I don't plan on abandoning this story to focus on Overlord, so don't worry! Just thought I'd let you know, because I feel if you've read this far you obviously must enjoy my writing at least a little bit :p so if you'd be interested in an Overlord fanfiction, just follow/favorite me. I'll unveil more details at the end of upcoming chapters :)**


	26. Chapter 26

**A Darker Path**

TheReaperCometh

 **A/N: Hey! School started last week :( and I've just been having one hell of a time getting used to waking up so early again - though I guess everyone is experiencing something similar at this time of the year, right? Anywho, hope you enjoy the chapter!**

* * *

 **Chapter 25: "Full Moon"**

 **POV Nagisa**

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I freeze as the cold barrel of a handgun presses into the side of my head.

My breath hitches.

My mind races, runnning through thousands of simulatory scenarios to potentially escape my imminent death: but nothing I can think of can trump the speed at which a trigger can be pulled. That leaves me with only one option: bide my time.

"W-wait… before you pull the trigger, hear me out…" I stammer out, desperately trying to think of something, anything, I can say to convince my assailer not to move his trigger finger another half inch.

To my surprise, the gun is suddenly jerked away from my head.

"Jesus Nagisa!" A female voice cries out in a relieved whisper, "what are you doing slinking in through the window like a creep! I almost blew your head off!".

I turn my head towards the source of the voice, and squint into the darkness.

"Irina?" I ask incredulously. It's hard to see in the dark.

"No, I'm actually the muffin man - Who else?!" She shouts sarcastically: "But I'm glad you're okay!" she adds joyfully, pulling me into a crushing hug before letting me go and reaching to the side to turn on a lamp.

My eyes shut tightly in protest at the spontaneous burst of light. After a few seconds and some forceful eye rubbing, I regain my vision. My eyes widen.

"I-Irina!" I cry out as my eyes travel over the scantily dressed woman before me. I try to force myself to look away but even I, with my nearly non existent libido, can't tear my eyes off her.

She's wearing a sky blue colored, lacy band of fabric over her chest - and I say "piece of fabric", because one would be hard pressed to call it a bra: it looks like a bandaid trying to hold back a bursting dam. She's also wearing an equally revealing, matching colored pair of panties which graciously accentuates her curvaceous hips and toned abdomen. She has what most people would call a perfect hourglass figure.

I'm currently devoting 100% of my conscious ability to keep my eyes from straying too much. If I can't get my greedy eyes to look away from her, then I'll just have to look at an innocent part of her then: her face. Nothing wrong there! I've seen it a million times, it's what I, and everyone else looks at when talking to her, no big deal...

Ahhhhh! It's not helping. Her unkempt hair and wild look in her eyes only adds to her erotic appeal. My eyes ignore my effort to preserve my innocence and look down to her body again.

Luckily for me, she hasn't noticed my staring yet - she seems preoccupied with what's going outside

"Nagisa, have you seen Karma?" She asks quietly, trying to peer out the window.

I shake my head to clear my head of...other thoughts.

"Um, er, yeah, I was on the roof with him before uh...coming in here. Where's Karasuma?" I ask, looking up at the ceiling trying to quell the primal heat in my chest.

"He went downstairs to get some 'more useful firepower' as he put it. Told me to stay put for now and we'd regroup soon. Is Karma still on the roof?"

"I think so. He said he had a plan" I offer absent mindedly as I continue to ogle her body.

She turns her head to look at me, forcing me to meet her eyes so as not to seem suspicious.

Before she can answer though, a strange whistle is heard from outside, right below the window. Irina rushes over to the window, and moves to open it.

"Hang on! What if it's an enemy!" I ask as I grab her wrist. She whirls around to face me, the sudden twist of her body causes her chest to jiggle multiple times.

"No, it's definitely Karasuma! That's a signal we came up with a while back" She assures me. With no reason to refute her claim, I shrug and let go of her wrist. She turns off the lamp then whirls back around. She pull on the thin band of panty fabric at the side of her hip before snapping it back over the handgun she was holding, to free up her second hand.

I can honestly say I've never seen someone holster a gun in a pair of panties before, but I can tell you one thing - it was oddly hot.

She flings open the window.

"Karasuma!" She cries in a cheery, hushed tone, bending over at a 90 degree angle out the window so that her midriff is resting on the window sill.

Lord give me strength, she's doing it on purpose now!

Her legs are splayed out widely in a V as she leans out the window, leaving her derriere on full display.

You know what, if she's gonna put herself in a position like that, I'm not even going to feel bad about gawking at her now - all I can be guilty of now is being a teenage boy.

No! I slap myself, shutting my eyes. Stop it Nagisa, get a grip! But…

I hesitantly open my eyes again. Much to my… mixed feelings of both excitement and dismay… it seems her panties become practically thong-like at the back, leaving almost nothing to the imagination as I soak in the full view of her ass. Now that the tinted window has been lifted, the moonlight is filtering in, casting a pale glow over her smooth pale skin. My eyes travel over her slender, toned legs all the way up to the plump cheeks of her firm bubble butt. I feel the surge of heat that had been quarantined into just my chest, travel down to my lower region. I cross my legs to hide it. I'm vaguely aware that Irina and Karasuma have been talking this whole time, and not listening probably means I'm missing some vital intel right now - but who cares!

"Ungh! Almost-!" Irina suddenly cries out as she reaches out the window to whatever it is Karasuma is handing her. As she stretches herself further and further, her butt wiggles from side to side invitingly.

"Okay, got it - damn I forgot how BIG it was!" She grunts out.

An intoxicating dizziness washes over me.

As she strains to lift the mystery object, her butt clenches, and the thong like band disappears completely behind tightened cheeks.

My eyes stare shamelessly, burning the image of Irina's practically bare ass into my memory. I clench my thighs together as tightly as I can to keep my obstinate member down.

This is a new low for me. 'You're disgusting' a small part of me says to myself.

The other 90% of me however...

Finally, Irina hoists herself back out of the window, and I finally see the wonderful item which permitted me such an erotic show.

My eyes widen at the gun she produces - a sniper rifle, and a very sleek looking one at that. The most impressive feature is its long and narrow three foot barrel with a rectangular silencer placed over the muzzle. It has an impressive scope, and a long cartridge jutting out from the bottom: and with no bolt, it must be semi automatic. The moonlight reflects off its slick, crbon colored surface, giving it a menacing gleam. Attached from the side of the scope hangs a pair of pink dice, like some sort of charm. Irina hoists it proudly over her shoulder with a smile.

"Uwaaa! Feels good to be holding my baby once again" She exclaims triumphantly, stroking the stock of the rifle affectionately. Then she shoots me a questioning look.

"Uh… Nagisa? You need to go to the bathroom or something?"

"Huh?" I respond incoherently, still in awe of the ridiculously large rife.

She motions to my crossed legs. I feel my face burn up. I can't uncross them yet, it's still up!

"Er, yeah… is that… yours?" I ask in return to deflect the topic, motioning to the rifle.

"Yeah! This has been my gun of choice for years! We've gone on so many missions together. I can't even begin to imagine how many people I've shot with this!" She says with a grin.

That's a bit… morbid.

"Oh, I didn't know you were so passionate about your guns, Irina sensei…"

"Well excuse me! When you're in my line of work for so long, it can't be helped!" She exclaims defensively

"Anyway, there's no time for idle chatter Nagisa, let's get on with the plan!" She says while strutting towards the door.

"W-wait! What plan?!" I ask. She whirls around and raises an eyebrow.

"What do you mean 'what plan', what you think we were just talking about with Karasuma?"

Hell if I know!

"S-sorry, I didn't really catch any of that conversation. I was… distracted" I say honestly.

"Distracted? By what? I looked back at you a couple times and you were nodding so it looked like you were listening"

I gulp. I didn't even notice! It was subconscious!

"I was… uh, lost in thought and… admiring the, uh... full moon" I answer truthfully.

"Lost in thought?! What could POSSIBLY be diverting your attention from the life and death situation we're in!" She exclaims while spreading her arms out in an exaggerated manner, causing her chest to puff out. Any further, and her bra would've surely snapped.

She then turns and looks skeptically out the window "...and there isn't even a full moon out tonight!" She adds.

Yeah, not THAT full moon, I think to myself perversely, with only a tinge of remorse.

"O-oh really?" I say while pretending to strain myself to look out the window. She sighs.

"Okay well I'll give you the lowdown then-" She suddenly stops talking and freezes in place. I blink confusedly.

"Irina?" Just then, the hairs on the back of my neck stick up, and my instinct relays a chill down my spine.

"Get down!" Irina cries out startlingly, diving on top of me and forcing us both to floor just as a torrent of bullets tear through the wall like paper mache. The onslaught of bullets continues relentlessly as it ravages everything around us.

 _Clank_ as the lamp on the side table and mirror on the back wall are obliterated simultaneously into hundreds of shards.

Feathers from gutted pillows burst from their cases and rain down on us.

Wood chips are sprayed into the air as the bed frame is utterly destroyed

All Irina and I can do is lay down, motionless, and pray that we don't get hit. The flurry of bullets is nearly deafening. Wait a minute… Irina is still mounted on top of me! She's laying down right on top of me in order to stay low to the ground. I suddenly become keenly aware of her chest pressing into mine.

With a mind of their own, my hands reach around and overtop her, and before I can even process what's happening, they suddenly each clasp down on Irina's ass. Eloquently put, in modern language…

She's thicc. Definitely deserving of the two c's

My hands continue to fondle and squeeze the plump yet firm mounds as if on autopilot, all while the flurry of bullets continues to whirl by us.

I'm likely going to hell for this.

Then suddenly the assault ends. My ears are ringing. A few seconds pass as Irina and I pant in silence. She then props herself up on my chest with her elbows tentatively, as it testing to see if a bullet would whiz by again. Then she looks down at me with a shocked expression, as if just becoming aware of something.

"Jeez Nagisa, I always took you as a 'hands on' kinda learner but…" She trails off accusingly in a teasing tone, looking back over her shoulder at my hands.

"W-what?" I squeak out.

Then the feeling of soft skin on my hands reminds me. I feel my face burn up as she stares down at me.

"So… do you mind, Nagisa?" She says as she reaches behind her and wrenches my hands off her body. A residual tingling sensation lingers on my fingertips.

"Ah, er, I can explain, Irina sensei-!" I try to come up with an excuse, but she puts her hand over my mouth.

"And to think all this time, I thought you were one of the good boys, Nagisa! You rascal, taking advantage of the situation like that - for shame! I guess now I know what was 'distracting' you earlier, hmm?"

I look away shamefully, unable to think of anything to say.

"Aw come on, don't get like that! You know I'm not one to make a fuss about this sort of thing. I mean, at the end of the day, you're still just a guy!" She giggles, then leans down close to my face and winks.

"It'll be our little secret, 'kay?" She whispers, which only makes me blush even moore profusely.

"More importantly however," she starts, sitting back upright, her tone changing suddenly in a way which says 'okay, teasing time is over': "We need to find cover ASAP. Those bullets undoubtedly came from a gatling gun, and they're probably just about done reloading so - EEK!" Irina suddenly yelps and scrambles off of me.

"Irina? W-what's wrong?" Is all I can say at her sudden outburst.

Now, disconcertingly enough, it's Irina's turn to blush and look away timidly at the floor, crossing her arms over her chest. She brushes the hair out from in front of her face in a fluster.

"I felt it poke me…" she says quietly.

My heart nearly leaps out of my throat. There's no question as to what 'it' is. I glance down, mortified, at my 'tent'.

I wish for nothing more than to disappear off the face of the planet. I pray for the next flurry of bullets to come as soon as possible to put me out of my misery. Before I can say anything, Irina speaks up in a flustered tone.

"A-anyway, like I said, this'll be our little secret so let's just… quick, we need cover…" She changes the topic quickly and starts looking around, and I begin doing the same. The wall on the side which the bullets came from is riddled with thousands of holes. Everything else in the room is in a similarly perforated state. I look behind me and see that the bullets even penetrated the walls on the opposite side of the room.

That's some serious firepower.

"Help me move this for cover, it should be enough to block the bullets. Next time they reload I'll take them out with my rifle, o-okay?" She asks as she gets off the floor and moves over to an oak wardrobe against the wall. All I can do is nod in response and follow her over, for my voice has abandoned me. I can still see traces of a blush on her face, and I can't help but notice that she's avoiding having to look at me. The air is tense between us.

We both grip either side of the wardrobe.

"1..2...3!" Irina counts down and we both heave with all our might. After a few seconds of seemingly struggling in vain, we manage to tip it forward just enough for gravity to do the rest of the work. I flinch as the wardrobe smashes into the floor with a thunderous crash.

"Quick, get behind it!" She cries out as she grabs my wrist and yanks me to the floor onto her lap behind the wardrobe. And not a second too soon, as the explosive roar of armor piercing rounds tears through the room once more.

Chunks of wood fly all around us - a few of which scrape against my face and shoulders like shrapnel, sending a sharp pain through my body. The bullets continue to drill into the wardrobe, and I can feel the steady vibrations from the force of bullets through the wardrobe, but it seems Irina was right to choose this as our barricade.

All we can do hold onto each other, sit still and wait for the chaotic destruction to end.

About thirty more seconds pass, which feels like an eternity, before the last few _thunks_ are heard and all is quiet. I touch my shoulder and my right cheek - just minor scratches.

Without a moment's hesitation, Irina releases me and vaults over the wardrobe gracefully. She leaps onto the bed and lays down on her stomach, grabbing her rifle and propping herself up. She acted so quickly, I can hardly process what's happening. I watch attentively as she presses her cheek against the stock and looks through the scope. A few seconds pass. She exhales sharply.

A muffled _bang_ echoes throughout the room, as Irina pulls the trigger and inhales sharply.

A slight readjustment of the gun.

Another exhale.

 _Bang._

Irina turns around proudly, hopping off the bed.

"Two down - who knows how many more to go!" She beams at me.

I blink incredulously.

"So you just… took out two of them?" I ask in complete astonishment.

"Well duh. What, did you think I was shooting at partridges?" She quips, putting her arms through a strap and slinging her rifle onto her back.

"That was incredible, Irina sensei! I didn't even know you were a sniper! You just took them out in seconds from a few hundred metres away. Can you teach me how to shoot a rifle like that?!" I ask enthusiastically.

"Sure thing! We can start doing that for some of our one-on-one sessions. Although if you thought that was impressive: neither of them were moving targets. And I'll have you know I've made kill shots from over two kilometres away in the past with this rifle!" She gloats in a haughty voice.

"T-two kilometres?!"

"I mean, in ideal conditions - low wind, good vantage point, no obstructions - I could probably hit a target about 6 km away" She states matter of factly

I gawk open mouthed. 6 km?! I didn't even know something like that was possible.

"Come on Nagisa, let's get down and regroup with Karasuma" She says excitedly, obviously pleased with the idea of reuniting with him.

I'm just glad the weird tension between us is gone.

"Oh but first let me get some clothes on… sorry to disappoint, Nagisa, but I can't have you dying because you were too busy staring at a 'full moon'"

My expression must be priceless, because Irina looks over and laughs.

"What, you thought you were being clever with that?" She asks rhetorically while walking over to a pile of clothes in the corner.

"Oh god dammit!" She exclaimed, holding up what was once probably a shirt, but is now a gangly piece of fabric that was torn to shreds by the bullets. She then produced a pair of shorts which was less damaged, but still had a fairly large hole on the left side of the back.

"I hope a half moon won't be as distracting for you, Nagisa," She said wittily with a chuckle while slipping into the pair of shorts. She simply discarded the useless shirt out the window.

"Really, I'm sorry about that Irina, I don't know what came over me…"

"Hey, I'm just poking a little fun at you… actually, I guess you were the one poking your 'fun' at me!" She laughs out

"Hardy har, you're just so witty" I say in an unimpressed tone, but on the inside a pang of guilt shoot throughs me, and I feel like dying. I scratch the back of my head.

"I… don't know what to say about that, Irina, I'll apologize a million times if I have to if-"

She shrugs with a smile:

"Getting ogled by guys who just see us as sex objects is just something pretty little things like me get used to" she states nonchalantly

" Ahhh" I exhale gloomily: " Well when you word it like that, I feel so much better…So now I'm some misogynistic pig?" I say sarcastically. Irina smiles and chuckles.

"You know I'm only teasing: Here, take this -" she says, reaching down and taking the handgun that was strapped to her hip and handing it to me. I reluctantly take it while fighting off a blush, thinking about where it had just been.

"Let's go!" Irina exclaims. I nod in agreement, and we cautiously open up the bedroom door just as bursts of gunshots are heard from downstairs.

 **POV Karma**

 **5 minutes earlier**

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 **A/N: So I'll admit this chapter may have been a bit… ridiculous XD but I had fun writing it and I hope you enjoy it. More action and seriousness in the next chapter though. Thanks for reading.**


	27. Chapter 27

**A Darker Path**

TheReaperCometh

 **A/N:**

 **Two months since my last update?! So, uh…**

 **How's it going? XD I hope you haven't all forgotten about this story...**

 **I've been extremely busy since the startup of school… one of my courses is an intensive writing class which requires me to write ten short stories every week. That paired up with perpetually having physics and chemistry lab reports to write, I've been consistently experiencing a bit of mental burnout, and have been finding it extremely difficult to bring my fingers to the keyboard once more right before bed to work on this story. I hope you can forgive me lol. So here's a short chapter I finally wrapped up today because I had no classes… take it as a peace offering, and hopefully I'll be able to write up a proper length chapter in a couple weeks, and at the very latest before christmas.**

 **Cheers**

 **Chapter 26: "Familiar Faces"**

 **POV Karma**

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I leap off the roof, driving my elbow downwards into the unsuspecting fool trying to circle around the side of the house.

His collarbone makes a crisp _Snap_ sound - music to my ears. The blow elicits a guttural howl of pain from the soldier, and he crumples to his knees, writhing in pain. I quickly wrap an arm around his neck and begin to squeeze, stifling his yell.

"Urk!" He cries out, desperately tugging at my arm.

"Shhh… your struggle is pointless, just let it happen-" I stop, suddenly noticing a flash of metal in the corner of my eye. Instinctively, I raise my free hand to intercept it, seizing the the man's wrist. I take a deep breath, and I'm startled as the intake of air expands my gut outwards enough to feel the prick of a blade. I glance down at the dagger clutched tightly in the man's trembling hand, as he struggles to drive it just a few inches further, impeded only by my own hand. That was a close one.

"Hoh? A valiant effort, might've even gotten me if the moon wasn't out" I commend condescendingly.

"Drop...dead…prick" the man seethes through gritted teeth, as my chokehold rapidly attenuates his consciousness. Finally, he goes limp: but I continue to squeeze for a few more seconds just to be safe. I release him, and he faceplants unceremoniously into the dirt. I quickly take his knife and shotgun, grinning to myself in satisfaction of my newly acquired toys.

Suddenly, a thunderous whirring erupts through the air, quickly followed by the distinct sound of wood splintering. I look up at house, raising both arms protectively over my head as I dive to the ground as bullets shred through the house at an incredible velocity, showering hundreds of pieces of wood and drywall down on me. After about thirty seconds the onslaught finally ceases, and I tentatively lower my arms to my sides and push myself up. The silence is deafening. I look up at the house, as perforated as swiss cheese, and a lump forms in my throat as I realize the holes are noticeably more concentrated on the section of the wall that would've been the room Nagisa crept into. Now that I know they have long range support I can't afford to stay out here any longer.

I sling my gun over my shoulder and sheath my knife, treading carefully along the wall of the house towards the backdoor. I'm very fortunate to be on the side of the house where the moon isn't, allowing me refuge in the shadows - otherwise I'd likely have been spotted from afar and reduced to chunks of meat before I could even register what was happening by now.

Nagisa better be okay, or so help me god I will brutally murder all of these fuckers.

I finally reach the back door, and with a quick tug I yank it open. My eyes widen as I'm greeted by a small figure looming in the doorway, most likely a woman. I didn't think the invading force had already infiltrated the house! I deftly draw the knife from my side and thrust viciously towards the intruder.

 _Shink!_

I inhale sharply.

 _Clang!_

A knife clatters to the ground.

My knife, the one that didn't find its mark.

"Gurk!" I sputter, a spray of red fluid erupting from my mouth. My head starts spinning, and my eyes drift lazily downwards.

The handle of a knife, pressed against my gut. B-but where's the blade?

I stagger back, clutching the handle. Have I… been stabbed? It's imbedded as deep as possible. I pull on it lightly, and as I do, more blood surges up my throat and out of the wound. An immense pain wracks my body, causing me to fall to my knees.

"O-oh… hehe...it's in my gut" I mutter deliriously. My vision darkens. A shadow looms over me, blocking out the moon, and I gaze up at the slender figure.

My killer. A vaguely familiar shape.

I squint my eyes trying to counter my attenuated consciousness, trying to focus on the face of my assailer. I'm unable to discern any facial features, but my blurry eyes are drawn to a more prominent defining feature.

"You… how…?" I retch before falling on my back, the murky turbulence that is the sky fills m vision soothingly, dulling the incoherent buzzing in my brain that was sparked by the realization of who it was that stabbed me. The pain is nothing more than a faint throbbing now.

My assailer crouches down beside me and puts a soft hand on my forehead. She leans in and whispers in a wistful, breathy tone.

"Forgive me, Karma-kun, I know that was unfair of me. Please, don't scorn my name in your final moments…"

"Is that, genuine sadness I hear? I thought you of all people would've become desensitized to this" I mutter almost inaudibly, my eyes not leaving the brilliance of the moon. In the corner of my vision, my killer nods her head gravely. I laugh, which quickly degrades to haggard convulsions.

Her hand leaves my forehead, and I feel an innocent kiss planted daintily on my forehead.

"Oi, I don't know why you're doing this but-" a finger is planted firmly over my lips, silencing my utterance. I cough violently, spraying blood all over her hand. She doesn't retract it.

"Whoops. Feel free to just wipe that off on my shirt, if it isn't already too soaked" I joke.

"Please don't speak, that only makes this sadder… just go to sleep"

"Who said I was trying to make it easy? But, it's been a long day so I will follow your suggestion and go to sleep. Oh, but can you wake me up at 7, I have training with Nagisa"

A small, nearly undetectable gasp escaped her lips at the mention of that name, and she shifts anxiously. She stands up quickly and begins to walk away. I smile at her sudden change in disposition.

"...You going to kill him too?" I ask probingly.

Her footsteps stop abruptly.

"You know I would never…" She trails off, and from the tone of her voice, I can picture her trembling in anger.

"Whoa, forget I asked" I glance down at the handle of the blade in my stomach, with the familiar six letter inscription: "Now, I'm no expert, but I'm not 100% sure this is made of plastic".

"Even in your final moments, you can't take anything seriously, can you Karma-kun?" She asks rhetorically.

I have neither the energy nor the coherence to respond.

"Goodbye" She whispers one more time, before turning and walking away. The quiet crunching of her feet echos further and further away.

And then silence, save for the raspy sound of blood-infused air struggling to make it to my lungs.

Nagisa…

Numbness

Nothing.

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	28. Chapter 28

**A/N Hey! Long time no see! Despite what all of you might have thought by now, I have not dropped this story! (I hope some of you are even still interested in reading lol)**

 **Chapter 27: Breaking Point**

 **POV Nagisa**

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Creeping down the stairs with Irina right behind me, I hold my breath, honing my senses to pick up on even the smallest noises.

 _Creak_

A discernible footstep, from right around the corner. I glance back at Irina, who seems to have heard it as well. She levels her rifle towards the base of the stairs.

I raise my pistol as well. We both simultaneously hold our breath anxiously, fingers twitching in anticipation.

"Irina?" A quiet whisper comes from below.

I sigh in relief, lowering my gun.

"Karasuma!" Irina cries happily, quickly strutting past me.

He finally pokes his head around the corner. A slight dusting of pink appears on his face as he notices Irina's clothing. Or rather, what's left of them.

Irina approaches him with open arms and a giddy expression.

"We're surrounded on all sides, and outnumbered by an unknown enemy, and still you act like this" he points out bashfully, trying his best to sound as disapproving as possible while looking off to the side as Irina's arms wrap around his neck.

"Mhm!" She offers happily.

"Well, we don't have time for this" he retorts, calmly prying her arms off of him.

"We need to secure a vehicle. From what I've seen they actually have more forces in the back: they must have been quite confident in the idea that we would've tried to flee. Our best bet is to go out the front and get to one of their vehicles. I'll go out the front door directly, Irina you cover me from the second floor with your rifle, Nagisa…" he trails off, looking at my pistol. Hardly a weapon to be used either on the front lines or for shooting enemies at a long distance.

"You guard the staircase and don't let anyone get to Irina. Once I secure a vehicle, I'll honk twice, and that'll be the signal for the two of you to hightail it out of here. Karma should be coming in any second now, I spoke to him while he was still on the roof earlier and told him to come inside ASAP. Got it?"

Irina and I both nod, and Karasuma, still crouching, stealthily moves to the front door, leaning up against it. Irina at the same time hurries back upstairs. About ten seconds later, she stamps her foot on the floor above, signalling that she's in position. Karma glances at me one more time, then, after taking a deep breath, swings open the door and practically leaps outside. I hear shouting immediately and the sound of gunshots. Bullets tear through the front door Karasuma had gone through just seconds earlier.

And here I sit, useless.

 _Creeeeak_

The backdoor suddenly creeps open, and a shadowy figure scuttles inside with what appears to be a shotgun in hand. Before he even notices me perched on the stairwell, I level my gun, and without a moment's hesitation, pull the trigger.

 _Thok!_

The sound of a bullet hitting not flesh, but what must be a vest, rings out. The man falls down with a grunt, dropping his gun.

From the ground he kicks over the coffee table, and crawls behind it as a shield.

Tsk. Not wanting to give him time to think or react, I sprint down the stairwell with silent steps, and after taking a few steps, dive over the coffee table.

The man reaches out to grab his gun. Before even landing, I twist around in midair, and raise my gun, pulling the trigger. The bullet tears through the invader's outstretched hand. He pulls his hand back reflexively, screeching in agony just as I land, and blood spurts steadily from the back of his hand. Furiously, he drags his leg across the ground to sweep at my legs. I effortlessly hop over it, and shoot him once more, this time in the head, splattering brain matter over the coffee table. His body spasms for an instant, before going completely limp. I seize his shotgun and sling it over my shoulder.

A few months ago, I would've been unable to so callously extinguish another human being's life, but these last few weeks have been… transformative.

Just as I turn back to reassume my position at the stairwell, a sudden breeze tickles the nape of my neck and the back door creaks open further.

As if beckoned by some supernatural force, I turn around and creep towards the back entrance.

'There's something you must see', I can almost hear the wind whisper.

I finally reach the door and crouch down, scanning the outside for enemies. Though for some reason, I feel as though I'm not actually checking for enemies.

And then my blood freezes over, as my heart ceases its beating.

A thick lump in my throat forms as my eyes focus in on a single, familiar head of red laying on the ground.

"K-karma?" I sputter in disbelief, swallowing hard.

In complete disregard for safety, I stumble out of the house, as if in a trance, and walk towards the only thing that matters right now.

"K...Karma!" I shout out, now sprinting towards him. I fall to my knees next to him, and my eyes widen at the blade embedded in his gut. I press the side of my head against his chest.

Nothing.

No breathing, no heartbeat.

My head spins dizzily, and an all too familiar saltiness stings at my eyes as I frantically run my hands over the sides of his face.

"K-Karma! Wake up!"

I swiftly plant both hands on his chest, and press down in quick pumps as Karasuma had taught us to do CPR in gym class. Unable to count properly as I'm overwhelmed with panic, after what feels like 30 compresses, I take a deep breath.

Tilting his head back, I press my mouth over his and exhale forcefully.

Nothing.

"Karma! God dammit!"

30 more compresses

Two more breaths.

My bitter tears fall from my eyes and land on his pale cheeks, staining his serene expression.

"Karmaaaaa!" I shriek, now pounding on his chest with clenched fists in complete disregard to technique.

I don't care if I break all his ribs! Just wake up!

"For fuck's sake! Open your eyes! You have to get up, Karma!"

I press my mouth over his once more and my lips tingle: I close my eyes and pray to every deity I can think of.

Wake up! Wake up God dammit!

My whole body feels weak, and I break down helplessly, collapsing overtop of him. I can't lose him!

Karma, my best friend in the world.

Karma, the misunderstood, class prankster.

The only one I have left, the only one who understands me.

Karma, who could always put a smile on my face.

Karma, the one who can actually make me FEEL things

Karma, who agreed to my absolutely ridiculous plan of becoming assassins without a moment's hesitation.

Karma, the only person I love.

Karma, the only thing I have left to live for.

'Oi Nagisa-chan!' I imagine him saying mockingly in my mind

I grit my teeth helplessly, pressing my face into the crook of his stiff neck.

"Don't… don't leave me… please… Karma…" I choke out desperately, wrapping my arms around him.

"I can't… be left alone… I… I can't…"

Suddenly, a bitter anger swells up inside me.

"What the hell has all our training been for if you're just going to fucking die here?! All the pain! All the suffering! All the loss! I'll have to carry all of that, alone, if you leave me you asshole!" I shout, pounding on his chest once more. The anger dissipates as quickly as it came, leaving a gaping emptiness in its wake.

"I… I still have that promise to keep to you remember? Just wake up, and I'll do it! Anything you want! I-I'll crossdress every day for the next year - no, for the rest of my life if I have to! So please FOR THE LOVE OF GOD JUST GET UP!"

 _Click_

The click of a gun behind me, close to my head. It barely even registers in my mind. I can't even bring myself to turn around as I wail pitifully into Karma's neck.

"I've got the blue haired one in my sights, I'll bring him around … copy that. Hey, on your feet!" I feel the barrel of a rifle press into my side.

Karma…

"Hey!"

Karma…

"Hey, I won't say it again, get the fuck up kid!"

a

Suddenly, he digs his gun harder into my ribs, and a twinge of anger sparks through my heart, rapidly blooming into an all- consuming rage unlike anything I've ever felt before. An unfathomable hatred, birthed from the depths of my soul, makes my whole body tremble and quiver.

Kill…

"Y-you…" I seethe through gritted teeth.

"You did this…"

Kill...

"Did what? Killed your friend? Well, he's long dead now so get a move-"

KILL

A ghastly, animalistic screech emanates from my throat, and the man behind me instinctively backs away, feeling the pressure of my blatant bloodlust.

"H-hey-!"

"YOU KILLED HIM!" I shout, and at an incredible speed, I wrench the blade from Karma's gut with a sickening squelch, I then leap at the man. Obviously taken aback, the man falls backwards and drops his gun. I leap on top of him. He reaches up to push me off, but with a savage swipe faster than the human eye can track, I lop off his entire hand. It flies off, leaving a gushing wrist, and lands on the grass a few feet away. All five fingers twitch grotesquely, and the hand almost resembles some sort of spider.

"AAAAAAAH! MY HAND! MY FUCKING HA-!"

I don't let him finish as I plunge my knife into his gut. The wind is knocked out of him and he lets out a shrill gasp.

I twist the knife out, raising it high above my head.

Back down it goes, making a sickening _schlop_ sound as it enters the same spot again. Cruelly, I twist it, its serrated blade making mincemeat of his intestines. The man opens his mouth and his eyes bulge out, but no sound comes out.

I savagely tear the knife out, a large splatter of blood and bits of entrails splashing over me.

I raise the knife over my head and bring it back down.

Again.

Again.

And again.

Karma, Karma, Karma, KARMA.

25, that's how many times I reinserted my blade into the man's gut, and each time, I gave it a more ferocious twist than the last. The man must have died long before the 25th stab, but I didn't care - his now unrecognizable, ravaged corpse, a testament to my wrath.

"Hah… hah…" I pant out in exasperation, rolling off the man and onto the ground beside his remains. I look at the knife in my hands, stained completely red with chunks of flesh stuck to the serrated side. I look at my hands, sopping wet with blood.

The blade falls from my hand, and I run my hands through my hair as tears assail my vision once more.

"Karma… why… why did you-" suddenly something catches my eye.

An engraving on the hilt of the blade.

An all too familiar acronym.

My blood runs cold.

"This-!"

Just then, two distinct honks echo through the night

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 **A/N What a hopeful chapter to come back to huh :D**


	29. Chapter 29

**A Darker Path**

TheReaperCometh

 **A/N: Here's another chapter! My feeble attempt to make up for missed updates lol, but enjoy nonetheless! Worked my butt off to write this up as quickly as I did and still ensure good quality. I will now try my best to update on a bi-weekly basis (Next chapter should be released on the 16th/17th of March)**

 **Chapter 28: Came Back For You**

 **POV Karma**

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Darkness.

Everywhere around me, an opaque blackness, smothering me like wispy tentacles.

I feel light, almost weightless, as though locked in an ethereal limbo.

Where am I?

Suddenly, a faint light appears far above me - a small tear in the fabric of this suffocating realm, but having been so adjusted to nothingness, I squint my eyes in response.

"Karma-kun" A warm voice resounds, ostensibly coming from the light source.

The voice is faintly familiar.

"Koro...sensei?" I mutter dazily.

"Hai, Karma-kun" the same voice replies nonchalantly.

"But.. I thought you… aren't you dead?" I answer. My mind is foggy.

"Yes, sadly, your fantastic teacher, the great korosensei, is still dead" he answers in a dramatic tone: "Which must beg the question for you, Karma-kun, how you can hear me"

As if on cue, a flash of remembrance:

Approaching the backdoor.

Running into her.

A knife in my gut. I scowl. How could it have been her? Was I mistaken? I must have been. There's no way...

I shake my numb head, as a more pressing question enters my mind - one that can potentially be answered.

"...Am I dead?" I ask quietly.

"No, you're not" koro sensei replies happily, though frustratingly enough, does not elaborate.

"Then how-" I begin irately

"But you're just barely clinging onto life as we speak" he concludes gravely.

"...ah, wonderful. So Koro-sensei, in death, have you once again become the Reaper, come to take my soul?"

"AHHH no no no!" He exclaims in a flustered tone "I've had enough of killing - and besides, I would never reap the soul of one of my beloved students, you should know that and-"

"Sensei, spare me the rambling" A smile graces my lips. It's weird, he's been gone for weeks at this point, and yet it feels so natural talking with him again - as if not even a day has gone by since I was sitting in his classroom, ignoring one of his energetic lectures like always.

He really was a good teacher.

"Ah, right, sorry. Anyway, I'm just here to tell you - not to give up!" He shouts proudly, as though he had just proclaimed a priceless gem of information

A few seconds of silence pass as I stare up at the light expectantly.

"Really? That's it?" I ask dubiously

"What do you mean 'that's it'?!" He snaps. I sigh. I take back everything complimentary I just said about this hopeless idiot.

"Well I just figured that the amazing Korosensei, my loquacious, pestering, and inspiring teacher, who managed to come up with a two thousand page book filled with life tips and other nonsense for his students' graduation, would have a bit more to say in a time like this" I snort.

"I never thought I'd say it, but I've missed your blatant sarcasm, Karma-kun. I'll have you know it's taking an enormous amount of effort and concentration on my part to even connect with you like this, I don't have the time to give a long speech or I would! This is only working in the first place because you're so close to dying" He says matter of factly, and then digresses in an angry tone: "and did you even read that book?! Everything you need to succeed in life is in that book!"

"How close?" I ask plainly, ignoring his complaint.

"Your heart stopped beating a few moments ago. All that remains is your soul, still tethered to the corporeal world - but if you don't get your heart beating again soon, it will leave your body and then you'll really be in trouble! So hurry up and wake up!"

"I don't understand how to just "wake up" from death, korosensei" I chuckle: "you make it sound so easy to just 'live'".

"Because it's an easy thing to do, so long as you want to live! Just think about the things you can't leave behind, and they'll ground your conscience back in your body!"

"Oi, sensei, what does a guy like me have to live for anyway. To be honest, life's been pretty shit lately and this blackness is pretty comfy, so I might just kick back here for a-"

Suddenly, the speck of white light widens explosively, now like a skylight, bathing me in a spotlight. I cover my face with my arms.

"What the-!"

"Shhh! Listen!" Koro sensei interrupts.

"Listen to what, you stupid octopu-"

"K-Karma!" A new voice rings out, sending a shiver down my spine.

A hysterical face enters the spotlight.

It's Nagisa.

Tears are streaming down his face, and his face is contorted in an expression of unadulterated anguish, the likes of which I've never seen before, even in recent times. I grimace.

I hate seeing him upset.

But why is he like this?

"Sensei, what am I seeing? What's wrong with Nagisa?"

"This is what you would be seeing through the eyes of your body if you were awake right now! Nagisa has just found your body in the field"

"Then he's crying because…" I trail off hesitantly.

"Mm-hmm! He thinks you're dead for good!"

"He's… this upset over me?"

"Hmm?" Korosensei muses: " now how could you ask something like that after all you've been through? Do you not care for Nagisa?" He asks knowingly.

"Of course I do… I just, didn't think he cared that much about me…" I answer embarrassingly.

"You underestimate yourself Karma. You're a strong individual with a big heart and good morales, despite how you may project yourself. You're his most precious comrade Karma-kun! Nagisa loves you, you should know that!"

At those last words, a warm rush surges through my chest and I take a deep breath - perhaps my first breath since I woke up in this place.

Badump

Badump

Badump

I can feel my heartbeat begin to lethargically pulsate, coming to life like an old car engine coming to life after being left in the cold overnight.

I continue to stare at Nagisa, unblinkingly, taking in his distraught expression with a newfound sense of...enjoyment? Enjoyment coming from the knowledge that my 'death' is what reduced him to this state, I guess… that's almost depraved, isn't it?

"Don't… Don't leave me… please...Karma..!" He wails, his voice cracking, and my now beating heart feels like splitting in two. Any shred of enjoyment I had started to feel has vanished.

Badump

Badump

Badump

"Nagisa…" I outstretch a hand toward the light, and suddenly feel myself being lifted upwards, as though being pulled by a magnet.

"-I still have that promise to keep to you, remember? Just wake up and I'll do it! Anything you want!" He cries pitifully.

BADUMP

BADUMP

BADUMP

I smile: "Oi now, don't say anything you're going to regret now" I muse, though I know he can't hear me.

Suddenly a tear drips off Nagisa's chin, and just as it strikes the imaginary window, a warm dampness touches my cheek, and like how a drop makes ripples in a pond, all the darkness around me is pushed away, leaving a warm light all around me.

"SO PLEASE FOR THE LOVE OF GOD JUST WAKE UP!" Nagisa shouts, spurring my ascent.

I grin widely. He's giving me so much ammunition to use against him. Any time he starts getting a bit cocky, I'll be sure to recite some of these lines to him.

BADUMP

BADUMP

BADUMP

My heart beats explosively, pounding in anticipation.

I've reached the window, but how do I get through? As if reading my mind, I feel eight tentacles press up against my back.

"Hey Korosensei, what's heaven like?" I ask innocently.

"You'll find out one day" He responds without missing a beat.

"Ohhhh that's right, you wouldn't know:with your past, you'd definitely be in Hell. Is it as hot as they say?"

"Hey, I'll have you know that-!" He cuts himself off with a cough, stopping himself from revealing his answer.

"Nice try, Karma-kun. You know I'm not the kind of teacher to tell my students the answer to every question. The best answers to your questions are those you discover yourself! Are you ready now?"

"Oi, you're no fun sensei! I just want to know if going to church once in a while would be worth it!" But even as I answer, I feel his tentacles putting more pressure on my back.

"Hey sensei…"

"Hmm?"

"Thanks… for everything. You really were an alright teacher" I mutter.

"I'll settle for 'alright', coming from you. Now, keep swimming forward, Karma-kun! And remember to read your graduation book when you get back!" Korosensei offers hopefully, and with a strong push, he sends me flying through the barrier between life and death.

Yeah, I'm definitely not going to read that book.

.

.

.

I bolt upright, taking a deep breath, before immediately wincing and clutching at my gut.

Surprised to find no knife there, I look around confusedly - my jaw slackens at a bewildering sight.

Nagisa, who moments ago was a bawling mess, is now slathered in blood with a deranged expression, hunched over a massacred chunk of flesh I can only presume was once a human being.

"I… I think you got him" I whisper sarcastically, clenching my eyes shut from the pain that came from speaking.

Nagisa visibly stiffens, as if someone suddenly dropped an ice cube down the back of his shirt. Trembling, he slowly turns around.

When it finally registers in his mind that I'm sitting upright, alive and relatively well, his eyes widen. His mouth opens, moving as if to form words, although no sound comes out. He quickly brings a trembling hand to cover his mouth

"What, Nagisa, you look like you've seen a ghost"

"K-karma! Is it really… are you really..! You weren't breathing!" He sputters incredulously, crawling towards me with trepidation, as if fearing I'm an iillusion.

"Yeah it's me you idiot, what other red-head with dashing good looks do you know of anyway-"

Before I can finish my line, Nagisa throws himself on top of my lap, locking his arms around me in a suffocating embrace while pressing his face into my chest.

"Hey, you're getting blood all over me. Your hair is almost as red as mine" I protest jokingly.

"K-karma! I thought… I thought for sure that you…" He trails off, breaking down into sobs of relief, which reverberate deeply through my chest. I feel his tears soak through my shirt. I grab the back of Nagisa's head, running a hand through his blue hair and pressing him tightly to my chest. For a moment, the rest of the world fades away - the gunshots in the distance, the trees, the grass, the sky and the stars - all gone, leaving just the two us. I lower my head and take a deep breath, focusing on Nagisa's erratic heartbeat: despite all the grime and blood, his hair still carries with it a sweet scent.

"Idiot, as if I'd leave you alone in this shithole world" I smile, his hair tickling my lips as I talk.

A small giggle escapes his lips, briefly interrupting his crying. We stay like that for a few more seconds, when suddenly I remember something. I clear my throat:

"Especially after you begged so desperately" I sneer

I feel him freeze, and hear his breath hitch.

"Don't… don't leave me… please, Karma!" I exclaim in the girliest voice I can make.

Suddenly Nagisa pushes away from my chest and falls off my lap, a horrified expression on his rapidly reddening face.

"Y-you heard that!?" He pouts, covering his face with his hands in embarrassment.

I grin: "Of course I did. As if I'd pass up such an opportunity".

I then reach out and grab one of Nagisa's arms, yanking him back into my lap. He tries to wriggle out, but I lock him in a tight bearhug.

I lean down so that my mouth is right next to his ear.

"Every. Last. Word." I whisper in a hotty breath. He's now blushing so profusely I can literally feel heat radiating from his cheeks.

"No fair! I thought you were dead, okay!" He cries defensively, now trying to squirm away with a newfound vigor. I laugh heartily, but before I can say another one of his embarrassing lines, a loud noise cuts me off.

Beeeeeeeep! Beeeeeep!

"What's that?" I ask

"Oh!" Nagisa exclaims "That's the signal from Karasuma! We need to get moving! Can you stand?" He asks frantically, shooting a worried look at the hole in my gut.

"Of course I can, what kind of a baby do you think I am?"

"Ah you're right, I forgot only babies could be incapacitated from something as harmless as being run through with a goddamn knife and losing a litre of blood" He mutters sarcastically. I start to get up to prove my point, immediately crumbling back to my knees as the world around me begins to spin. Fortunately, Nagisa catches me, slinging my arm over his shoulder in support. With a grunt, he stands me up.

"See? All good" I smile down at him. He shoots me an annoyed glare. He reaches into his back pocket and withdraws a pistol, offering it to me. I take it in my free hand.

"Three bullets left. Make 'em count" He tells me.

"Hoh? You used it already?" I question playfully.

"..."

He pauses for a second, pursing his lips

"I killed people tonight Karma. Real people" He affirms gravely.

"Yeah, I saw that" I snort, glancing back at the gruesome remains in the middle of the field.

"It was all in self defense..." He whispers hoarsely, though his cracking voice betrayed the certainty of his words

"You'd be hard pressed to convince a third party that THAT" I motion to the unrecognizable body of the poor soldier with a nod of my head: "was self defense. You're familiar with the term "excessive force", right?" I ask

"Karma!" He exclaims petulantly, clearly upset by my facetious response. He stares off into the distance, deep in thought.

"...am I a bad person?" He asks in the next breath. The question catches me off guard, and even I can't think of joking response to that.

"Oi, I was only kidding-"

"I felt nothing" he tosses out callously, shaking his head. He takes a shaky breath.

"I shot a man right through the head, Karma, and stabbed another more times than I could count, all without batting an eye… even now…" His voice cracks, and he lowers his head, purposely hiding his expression from me.

"I don't feel remorse for what I did. If I was put back in those same situations again, I know I would do the same and-!"

"Nagisa, the fact that you're having this much afterthought about it proves you aren't a bad person. It was either you or them, and these ashholes got what was coming to them. I killed a guy tonight too, you know. Like Karasuma and Irina said, you never forget your first kill. You'll come to terms with it soon"

"..."

We round the corner and begin walking up the side of the house, and the gunshots that have been going off since I awoke are getting increasingly louder.

"Stop moving for a sec" I tell him casually.

He complies immediately. I look down the ironsight of my pistol and hold my breath, aiming at an unsuspecting soldier taking cover behind a tree, his attention focused towards the street in front of the house. This is what you get for not watching your flank.

 _Blam!_

An instant later, the bullet strikes the soldier in the head, the force knocking his/her head into the tree with a _thok,_ before tumbling unceremoniously to the ground.

"Make that two people that I killed tonight. I couldn't let you get away with scoring higher than me" I say jokingly.

"Hey, a little warning next time, that was right next to my ear!" Nagisa complains, elbowing me in the ribs lightly. Then he looks at me with a childish grin:

"Besides, you almost died so I think that's minus one point" He adds.

"Eh, a small technicality, who's counting anyway".

Nagisa laughs wistfully. We reach the corner of the house.

"Ready?" He asks

"Does it matter if I am or not?" I answer. Just as we take our first step out from the cover of the house, A soldier comes whirling around the corner. He looks just as surprised as us for an instant, taking a step back before raising a shotgun towards us

"Fuck outta my way, kids!" He shouts in a panic.

With quick thinking that my sluggish brain couldn't have made, Nagisa shoves me to the side and dives in the opposite direction, just as an explosive blast of shrapnel flies through the air where we were just standing.

The pistol falls from my hand. The man pumps his shotgun expertly, and aims it down at Nagisa. I reach back for the pistol and whirl upright to shoot him.

 _Thud_

To my and Nagisa's shared disbelief, the man falls face forward into the ground between the two of us, unmoving, like a toy that had its batteries suddenly ripped out. A single hole in the back of his head seems to be the cause.

Beeeeep Beeeeep!

Two more honks. I look out at the street and see the barrel of a sniper rifle sticking out through a crack in the back door window of a black SUV.

"That's them! Let's go Karma!" Nagisa springs to his feet, yanking me up with him. I grimace, a sharp pain coursing through my whole body. I clutch my stomach, the epicenter of it all, and begin hobbling as quickly as possible along with Nagisa.

"Hey! It's the two kids, the boss wants them dead or alive at all cost!" A female voice rings out from behind us. Despite the pain, I break out into a full sprint right behind Nagisa.

"Graaaaaaa!" A battle cry suddenly rings out as a knife-wielding warrior jumps out from behind another tree, swinging wildly.

"Nagisa!" I shout, my heart skipping a beat as he ducks just in time for the knife to swipe right through the space where Nagisa's throat would've been.

With a ruthless kick, Nagisa delivers a sharp kick to his kneecap.

 _CRRK!_

The leg immediately crumples inwards at a crude angle and the man falls down to one knee.

"You little shit!" He seethes through grinded teeth, picking up his knife once more.

 _Blam!_

I fire a round straight through the man's neck, sending a spray of crimson from his jugular. His eyes bulge in surprise, and he brings both hands up in a futile attempt to put pressure on the wound.

Nagisa looks back at me and frowns, now covered in even more blood. I scratch the back of my head.

"Whoops"

"Somebody shoot them! I'm out of amm-" the same female voice from before cries out - in an obnoxiously whiny tone, I might add: I'm sure her name is Karen.

She's cut off, however, as a high caliber bullet tears through her supposedly "bullet proof" vest like paper mache and bursts her heart.

We finally reach the vehicle. The back door swings open, and in the same instant, a spray of bullets strikes the door.

"Get in! What took you so long, I'm almost out of ammo!" A half nude Irina cries desperately.

If she had opened the door a fraction of a second earlier, Nagisa and I would have been made into swiss cheese.

"Karma - he's been stabbed and lost a lot of blood!" Nagisa explains.

"What?!" Irina exclaims as I get passed into her arms and she pulls me into the vehicle. Nagisa climbs in right after, promptly shutting the door. Karasuma immediately slams down on the gas pedal and we shoot down the street. My head is placed in Irina's lap and I feel her hands press against my gut. I Wince at the pressure from her cold touch.

"My God!" Irina exclaims looking down at me, and I can just barely make out her mortified expression through my blurring vision.

"Just 'Karma', is fine Irina" I joke deliriously. She ignores me and begins pulling my shirt off over my head.

"Oi, you know I'm still underage you perv"

"WOULD YOU SHUT UP FOR A MINUTE!" She screeches, flicking my forehead before examining my wound.

"You're lucky, it just missed your liver. Must have been a pretty large knife though. You've lost a lot of blood…and you running around out there again has caused the bleeding to accelerate. We definitely need to get to a hospital"

"Ah… is that why I feel so cold?" I start to shiver.

"Shhh don't speak" she offers in a surprisingly tender voice.

My head is spinning and I can hardly see. My arms and legs are numb, my mouth is dry, and my body feels like it is both freezing cold and sweltering hot. It seems I used up all the energy I briefly acquired during my second wind.

"I think... I'll just rest my eyes for a moment" I whisper hoarsely.

"Hey now, Karma don't fall asleep on us!" She shakes me, though I barely feel it, just the vague sense of motion.

"Or you might not ever wake-"

"We got company" Karasuma interjects:" they're following us, as expected. Hold on tight, I have an idea" Karasuma warns before I hear a loud screech and the vehicle lurches sharply to the left.

"H-hey! Karma!" I hear Nagisa ask in a muffled voice. I open my eyes to look at him.

But all I see is darkness.

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	30. Chapter 30

**A Darker Path**

TheReaperCometh

 **A/N: Right on time! Enjoy.**

 **Chapter 30: Lull**

 **POV Karasuma**

 **Kunugigaoka's Disciplinary Training Facility**

 **.**

 **.**

 **.**

After a brief car chase, I successfully put enough distance between us and our pursuers that I was able to sneak into the hidden willow path and lose them.

"Well you made a fine mess of yourselves tonight" Amanda Werqin snorts.

I stare into the operating room through the one-way window, where a passed out Karma is laying on an operating table. The doctor just finished stitching up his grievous stab wound. Nagisa is out like a light, slumped over at his bedside - he refused to leave Karma, and I had neither the resolve nor the energy to dissuade him.

"As sympathetic as always, eh Amanda" I sigh. I rub my eyes tiredly. The sun will be rising soon, and I hardly even got a wink of sleep.

"Any idea who attacked you?" She asks, ignoring my comment.

I shake my head.

"I didn't catch a glimpse of any definable symbols or logos. There was a wide range of accents as well, though they all seemed to be able to speak fluent japanese, so I couldn't even tell you what country the group was affiliated with" I grumble.

"Tch. We even sent soldiers to investigate: aside from your utterly ravaged house, there was no trace of them - no bodies, and astoundingly enough, not a single bullet casing was found anywhere on the property so we can't even do a ballistics test. These guys were quick and professional - I'd say if their offensive prowess was even half as good as their cleanup skills, we wouldn't be having this conversation right now" she adds matter of factly.

I moan at the mention of my destroyed house.

"Yes, I reckon that even though the agency will certainly pay for the repairs, considering your walls are more holes than, well, wall, it probably won't be habitable for over a week"

I glance at her sheepishly.

"I… we'll be in your care until then"

"I don't remember agreeing to that" she retorts.

I spin around, wide-eyed, and before I can say anything she smiles, and I narrow my eyes disapprovingly.

"Amanda, don't tease me like that. In case you weren't aware, I had a rough night"

'Hoh?" She exclaims in mock surprise, bringing a dainty hand to her mouth: "restless sleep? Something on your mind?" She responds with a superfluous amount of sarcasm.

"Jokes aside," she continues: "as if I'd let you and the boys go somewhere else: this is the safest place for you right now until we find out who wants your heads - and if I were to kick you guys out and you all died... well let's just say I don't need that kind of unnecessary burden on my conscience"

"Thank you very much" I bow politely.

"Don't mention it… actually, do mention it, and in fact, let's just say you owe me one" she adds, though despite her playful delivery, I think she means it.

"I always repay my debts" I nod.

She stares at me, unblinkingly for a few seconds, until finally, she chuckles:

"I was only kidding, but I'll remember this exchange next time I need a job done quickly"

"Nothing anytime soon. I need to devote myself entirely to these two for the next few months"

Amanda arches an eyebrow: "Does that mean you'll be taking a break from work?" She asks dubiously.

"Yes" I respond without missing a beat, surprising even myself.

"Wow. When was the last time you took time off from w-"

"Never" I cut her off, my eyes instinctively resting on Karma and Nagisa's sleeping forms as I answer.

It's true. Since I became a field agent over a decade ago, so long as you count my time posing as a gym teacher for E-class as work, I've never once taken a my job. I've always been compelled by a strong sense of duty and patriotism: and with no family, my life has revolved completely around being a field agent. Training, attending strategic meetings, going on missions - a relentless, ceaseless cycle. After all, I've never had a reason to take a break.

But now I do.

"Well, you've certainly racked up enough vacation time" Amanda snorts in bewilderment.

I nod. Now that I think about it, I remember director Shinji saying that once the whole korosensei ordeal was over, I should take a long period of time off.

"Hell, take an entire year off, dammit! You're our best agent, but I think we can manage without you for a little while! You've earned some time off" He shouted at me right before I left for E-class for the first time.

I brushed it off, like I always do. I couldn't have fathomed taking an entire year off from work back then. But I just might take him up on his offer now. I smile inwardly.

Well, maybe not an entire year.

"By the way, who's the blonde hottie you came here with? Is she your girlfriend?" Amanda suddenly asks, snapping me out of my thoughts. A lustful glimmer for gossip sparkles in her eyes, as she leans towards me intently.

"Just a colleague" I say bluntly. Her excitement deflates with an exasperated sigh.

"You're truly, truly, TRULY hopeless, Tadaomi" she chastises.

"Coming from you, that's a compliment" I quip. "What room is she staying in anyway?" I ask.

Soon after we got here and the doctor assured us that Karma was in a perfectly stable condition, Irina practically passed out in relief and was sent to sleep in a "guest room" typically reserved for high ranking officers or inspectors.

"Interested? Curious? Do you intend to go let off some steam after such a stressful night, in the form of rough, primal, sweaty-"

"For the love of God Amanda, don't you have an off switch?" I interrupt her, and I can feel my cheeks flush.

"Relax! You know I just like to tease you. And this older bird hasn't gotten any action lately, so I'll admit sometimes I got a little carried away"

She watches for my reaction earnestly. I don't intend to let her continue to get a rise out of me time after time. I maintain a neutral expression and look her right in the eyes. Defeatedly, she crosses her arms.

"Oh you're such a stick in the mud sometimes. She's in room 205. The room across from it, 206, is available" She adds, revealing that she had known why I asked in the first place.

"Then I'll be retiring for the night. Er, morning" I correct myself, yawning for emphasis.

"Right, right, good morning" she waves me off. I bow to her, shooting one more look at my two students before leaving and proceeding up the barrack's marble staircase.

202…

204..

206, here we are.

While I was staying here as a trainee, I never got to experience the luxury guest rooms - I was stuck saddling up with the rest of the grunts on the first floor. Back then we always used to make bets on what the interior of these rooms looked like. Utterly ridiculous and unfounded claims, of course, but it was entertaining to discuss nonetheless:

"I bet they got a TV that takes up the whole wall!"

"And a fully stocked fridge at all times!"

"Probably even a toilet made of solid gold!"

"Heck, might even have a bed!" Someone would always joke, mocking our own 'beds', which felt like sheets of cardboard wrapped in newspaper. Sometimes I miss that late time banter with my fellow trainees.

Needless to say, I'm quite interested to see what these rooms are actually like, after all these years.

Just as I raise my keycard to unlock the door however, I hear a click behind me, followed by a tentative voice.

"Karasuma..?"

I turn around to see a groggy Irina, wrapped in a plush bathrobe. She rubs her eyes tiredly.

"Sorry to disturb you, I'm just getting to sleep myself. See you in a few hours" I tell her before turning around to unlock my room once again.

"W-wait!" She cries out, and I feel a hand grab my sleeve.

I turn around to face her and raise an eyebrow.

"Irina, I'm sorry, but I'm exhausted right now, we can talk in the morning or-"

"N-no I don't want to talk.. I just…" she looks away meekly, a faint pink dusting falls on her cheeks.

"I was thinking maybe we could share a room… even if it's just for tonight!"

I stare at her. We've been through this so many times, it's becoming tedious: and yet...

my heart skips a beat all the same, and suddenly I feel less tired.

"It's just, I'd feel more safe with you around, and, and-"

"Alright" I cut her off, strolling past her towards her room. She freezes in place.

"H-huh?" She squeaks.

"I said alright" I repeat, opening her door.

"Well I heard you, it's just, I was expecting some more resistance, like usual. You know, the whole 'no funny business' speech" I smile at that last part, as she said it in a deep voice, in hyperbolic mimicry of myself.

"Well, that goes without saying" I retort, swinging her door open and stepping inside. I hear the pitter-patter of excited footsteps follow me in. I look around the room, and a wave of disappointment washes over me. It certainly isn't a bad room, but nothing exceeding the expectations one would have for a somewhat expensive hotel. Nothing like the fantastical paradise we all envisioned down on the first floor of the barracks.

I suddenly hear the noise of a large pile of fabric hitting the floor: Irina just ditched her bathrobe. I freeze in place, not wanting to turn around

"Irina…" I start in a scolding tone.

"Relax, I'm not trying anything, I'm just as tired as you are. I still have my undergarments on - nothing you haven't seen before" She assures me in a playful tone. I sigh in relief and turn around.

My eyes widen.

I cough into my hand and whirl around again.

"I-I didn't know they made completely transparent undergarments" I joke.

"Hehe" she giggles, and I feel a hand placed on my back. The touch sends a shiver down my spine.

"Like what you saw?" She asks seductively.

"I-Irina, like I said, I just want to sleep. I-I know you're exhausted as well. Don't make me regret coming in here" I say. I curse my stutter.

"I'm not that tired. And oh don't worry, you won't regret anyth…-" with comical timing, she yawns for an absurd amount of time.

Silence.

She retracts her hand from my back and wordlessly sits down on the bed

"Oh phooey" she whispers dejectedly, her own body having betrayed her mood.

I blink.

"Aha… ahahahahaha!" I let out a hearty laugh. Surprised, I cut myself short. When was the last time I laughed outwardly like that? It just sort of burst out.

"Did you just… laugh? Like, actually, laugh?!" She exclaims in shock, practically leaping off the bed. I hear her throw on her bathrobe again.

"I… guess?" I say hesitantly, turning around and scratching my head. To my surprise, Irina is grinning wildly, and...

"Irina… are you… crying?" I ask in concern.

She wipes at her eyes.

"No, well, yes… it's just.. It was a nice sound. It makes me sad that I hadn't really heard it before now…" she mutters, smiling sleepily.

I turn away, fighting off a blush. What do I say to that? With a need to distract myself, I begin unfastening my tie, which suddenly feels unbearably suffocating.

"Oh! Did laughing get you in the mood? Changed your-"

"No" I cut her off.

"Hmph" she pouts.

With my tie now off, I proceed to take my suit and undershirt off. With a content sigh, I flop faceforward onto the bed. My eyes immediately feel cemented shut. I feel Irina climb into bed next to me. She runs a hand briefly through my spiky hair before turning the light off.

"Goodnight, Karasuma" she whispers.

"Mmm" Is all I can mumble in response.

I think tomorrow, I'll get in a good one on one training session with Nagisa. He could use an outlet I'm sure, and I have just the exercise...

.

.

.

 **POV ?**

 **Location: ?**

 **.**

 **.**

 **.**

A knock at my office door.

The black cat on my lap startles and leaps off. I glare at the door and spit venomously:

"Come in"

A man in a plain brown suit with the word ''Caretakers' emblazoned on the lapel, and thin rimmed glasses comes in - my assistant, Carter.

Under my heavy gaze, the color drains from his face. The black cat slinks between his legs and out of the room, the sudden contact startling him so much that his glasses almost fall off his face.

I sigh.

"What is it?" I ask irately.

"Er yes, s-sorry to intrude sir… things did not go according to plan tonight.

I arch an eyebrow pointedly.

"Er, well, they got away, sir: they went completely off the grid"

"What do you mean they got away!?" I seethe

"I-I don't know sir!" He mutters flusteredly: "I've only just heard from one of the few surviving members of the strike squad, they were in pursuit of the targets for about 10 minutes until suddenly… they turned down an open road, and by the time our unit turned the same corner a few seconds later, they were gone completely, sir"

I stare at him blankly.

" 'few surviving members' you say…" I reiterate while rubbing my temples.

Carter stands there awkwardly, his face glistening with sweat. He knows better than to talk without being first spoken too when I'm agitated.

"So let me get this straight. Our squad strike - no, YOUR unit - comprised of your very own hand-picked men and women - the sixteen of them, armed with assault rifles, shotguns, hell even a GOD DAMN MOUNTED MINIGUN" I shout, banging my fist on my dark oak desk for emphasis, making carter wince before I continue: "surrounding an UNSUSPECTING target, just four people, two of which are mere children -not only did they fail to complete the mission despite their overwhelmingly advantageous position, they also incurred heavy losses?"

Carter gulps:

"W-well, when you put it that way, sir…" he trails off sheepishly.

"WHAT OTHER WAY IS THERE TO PUT IT?!" I hiss, and with a petulant swipe of my arm, my desktop lamp is sent flying into the adjacent wall.

With a huff, I lean back into my chair and stare up at the ceiling.

"Sir, if I may-" He starts hesitantly

"You may not" I snort.

Silence.

With a wave of my hand, I bid him to continue

"Choose your next words carefully, or you may end up in an… undesirable situation, like my last adjutant" I threaten.

"I will keep that in mind sir, but there is someone here to see you who may be able to shed some light on what happened tonight.

"Why didn't you bring them in to begin with you idiot! Instead of mumbling like a fool and wasting my time! Who is it?"

Carter nods and turns around.

"The boss will see you now" he calls out into the hallway.

A slender form walks in, a grave expression on her deceptively soft features.

A young teenager, with beautiful green hair.

"Ah, my favorite little helper!" I beam, motioning to the seat in front of me.

"Please, make yourself at home… Kayano-chan!"

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	31. Chapter 31

**A Darker Path**

By TheReaperCometh

 **Chapter 31**

" **Timing"**

 **POV Karasuma**

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"K-karasuma sensei-!" The blue haired boy sputters before his head submerges underwater.

I reach down and grab the back of his neck, yanking him to the surface. He gasps for air graciously and looks to me pleadingly. I look at my watch and shake my head.

"One more minute, come on"

"My limbs feel like they're about to fall off!" He whines, desperately flailing his arms and legs in order to stay above the surface.

"50 seconds" I reply mercilessly.

"But-!" He begins to protest again, but his head dips momentarily, silencing his complaint as water fills his mouth.

"P-please…" He mutters after coughing up the water.

I climb out of the pool and grab a towel. I supposed he's at his limit.

"Alright, time" I announce, and a look of relief washes over Nagisa's face. He doggy paddles to the side of the pool, and with a great grunt, heaves his waterlogged body out of the water. He sprawls out on his back, breathing heavily, with strands of blue hair matted to his face. I throw him a towel.

"8 and a half minutes. Remember that time. Take the weights off now"

"You don't have to tell me twice…" He mutters, sluggishly removing the 8 pound weights attached to his wrists and ankles.

Swimming by itself is a fantastic exercise - it's a full body workout, targeting your core, your cardio, enhancing you range of motion, and it even helps tone muscles. A gruelling exercise I used to do all the time in my days as a cadet was swim out to the middle of the pool and just keep myself afloat for upwards of 30 minutes, with ten pound weights attached to each limb. The addition of extra weight and mass, even just a little bit, to each appendage makes it many times more difficult to stay afloat, and every motion of each limb feels like a chore.

Nagisa begins drying his hair with the towel and looks out at the pool, a grave expression on his face.

"And I have to do that again - for even longer - tomorrow..?"

I shrug: "Well if you're eager, we can do it again later tod-"

"NO! Absolutely not!" He shouts vehemently.

"Oh come on, it can't be that difficult Nagisa!" Irina calls out doubtfully from the lawnchair behind us, not even looking up from her magazine.

I shake my head. As to why there are lawn chairs next to an indoor olympic swimming pool within a top secret military base, I have no idea.

"Easy for you to say, Irina sensei! You have two of your very own personal flotation devices!" Nagisa accuses indignantly.

"Urk-!" Irina lets out, burying her face deeper in her magazine. A smile tugs at my lips.

"Care to try it?" I ask, waving an 8 pound weight towards her. She looks up from her magazine and eyes the weight scornfully.

"I think I'll pass"

I shrug

"Oh well, that's fine, if it's too hard for you, then I guess it can't be helped…"

"It's not too hard!" She cries as she jumps up from her chair, causing her "flotation devices" to bounce wildly and her magazine to flutter noisily the ground.

"Well then prove it" I challenge. A look of trepidation crosses her face. After a few moments, she scrunches up her face and snatches the weight out of my hand.

"Oh I hate you. Don't think you're so clever either by getting me to do this, I know damn well what you did, and I hate that I've fallen for it!" she cries while tying the weight around her ankle.

She lifts the now weighted leg in the air and waves it around a bit, a triumphant smile forming on her face.

"There's basically no difference! Light as a feather!" She proclaims jubilantly, reaching for the other weights.

"Oh, you poor, naive fool..." Nagisa mutters sleepily, currently using his towel as a pillow.

Indeed, Irina's words were the same that had left Nagisa's mouth ten minutes ago.

"So all I'll do is last longer than Nagisa did to prove my point, okay?" She asks tentatively, slowly lowering herself into the water. She's wearing a surprisingly modest red one-piece swimsuit.

"Alright just head out to middle of the pool and tell me when you're ready" I tell her, raising my stopwatch.

" 'kay!" She wades out proudly. Once she reaches the approximate centre of the pool, she looks back and waves excitedly:

"Ready!"

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"Ah...ha...ha...haaaa" Irina pants, throwing her arms over the side of the pool to support herself.

"Aaaaaand 6 minutes and 28 seconds" I announce.

"WHAT?!" Irina cries out in surprise, and in doing so slips off from the side of the pool and immediately goes underwater. She struggles back to the surface and throws herself over the side of the pool again, glaring daggers at me.

"That felt like at least 10 minutes!" She whines.

"Haha…" Nagisa laughs victoriously, ostensibly on the verge of passing out. This swimming exercise wasn't the only bit of training we did today, so it's understandable that he'd be exhausted now. Of course, I can't allow him to just fall asleep here, of all places.

"Come on Nagisa, let's go get some food, it's almost 2 in the afternoon. You did well today" I offer to incentivize him

At the mention of food, he immediately perks up, practically beaming.

"Alright! Do you think Karma's awake yet?" He asks incidentally.

"I don't think so, not yet. Be patient, we can check on him tonight" I say. Nagisa purses his lips and nods.

I think back to the meeting I had with the doctor this morning: he said it would be unlikely that Karma would wake up today, but you never know - he's formidably resilient.

Nagisa and I are just about to leave the pool area, when suddenly:

"W-WAIT!" Irina cries out behind us. I whirl around curiously to see her still in the pool. A fierce blush graces her face and she turns away.

"H-help" she mutters quietly.

"Help with what, exactly?" I reiterate, arching an eyebrow.

"I-I can't… get out of the pool" She admits, and her blush intensifies.

"iT cAn'T bE tHat hArD" Nagisa mocks from beside me.

All Irina can do is grimace and eat her own words. It's quite comical seeing her cling to the side of the pool, like a waterlogged cat, unable to lift herself up - I make a conscious effort to suppress the smile threatening the upper corners of my mouth.

I sigh, and walk over to the side of the pool. She outstretches both arms up towards me, like a child wanting to be lifted up.

I reach down and hoist her up with ease.

"Oh, my hero!" She exclaims cheerfully as her feet exit the water. Before I set her back down on the ground however, she leans forward and pecks me on the cheek.

"Thanks babe! Now, what are we eating for lu-"

With a deadpan expression and a quick swing, I fling her back through the air. She flails wildly in mid air before falling unceremoniously back into the water.

 _Sploosh!_

"Kaaaaarasumaaaaaaaaa!" She wails after surfacing, seemingly on the verge of tears.

"Come on Nagisa" I say, walking away and not looking back.

"IF I DROWN IT'S YOUR FAULT!"

I push Nagisa towards the door and a worried look crosses his face as he glances back.

"Uh, sensei, she might actually drown…"

"No, she's fine…" I look back just in time to see Irina sink completely underwater.

"Er...probably" I add.

And with that, we leave the pool area and head to the cafeteria.

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"Thanks for the food!" Nagisa cries out happily before digging into his chicken burger. I sigh wistfully, still waiting for my own food - I wish I had had access to food like this back when I was a cadet. Back then it was oatmeal, porridge, bread and butter for breakfast, and for lunch/supper it was often cheap frozen meals, stew, or mashed potatoes. Now this facility offers a luxurious restaurant-like experience. My stomach rumbles and I scrunch my face as Nagisa takes another bite. I look around the opulent cafeteria once again. Perhaps I've been so critical towards all these new renovations out of jealousy?

Lost in thought, I must've been staring too intently.

"Er, sorry Karasuma… I guess it was rude of me to start eating before you got your food, I was just so hungry… you want a bite?" He offers quietly, turning his burger around and offering the side he hadn't been biting into towards me. I blink twice, before shaking my head.

"No no, thanks though, you've earned every last bite. My apologies, I was just lost in thought"

Before Nagisa can say anything, a boisterous voice booms from beside me:

"Excuse me sir? Maybe you could help me, I'm looking for an old friend of mine - slicked back, kinda greasy black hair, mean eyes, walks kinda funny 'cause he always has a stick up his ass, - maybe you've seen him?" He inquires.

"Yeah, actually, that guy just came through here - asked me a similar question, wondering if I had seen a friend of his… described him as having a barrel shaped body, a terribly unkempt beard, and terrible sense of humour " I retort without looking up.

"Aye, fuck you, ya snarky prick! Scooch over, will ya!" George replies with a hearty laugh.

"Sorry, this seat is taken" I tell him plainly. He blinks once then laughs again.

"Now that's a load of bullshit, I know full well you don't have enough friends to fill a table!" He jabs.

I chuckle and shuffle over, allowing George to plop himself down beside me.

"Hey George how are- mmph!" Nagisa chokes out, quickly chugging down a mouthful of water to wash down whatever he began to choke on. George smiles.

"Slow down lad, didn't your mother tell you to swallow your food before opening yer mouth?"

Nagisa's cheeks flare up and he looks down at his now almost empty plate.

"Sorry sir, I didn't mean to be disrespectful"

Geroge reaches across the table and slaps Nagisa on the shoulder, causing the latter to jump in surprise.

"Gahaha! I'm just kiddin' boy. Back in the old training days we used to make fun of the sissy prudes who refused to talk with food in their mouths - besides, I'm sure ol' Karasuma here is running you ragged!"

"Only a heathen like you could make fun of someone for upholding basic table manners, George" I joke, shaking my head disapprovingly:

"You ordering anything?" I ask him, offering him the menu. George purses his lips and waves dismissively.

"Nah, I just ate. And as tempting as another serving sounds, I'm trying to lose weight so some assholes don't describe me as a barrel! More importantly…" He adds, suddenly taking on a grave expression as he shifts his gaze towards Nagisa. Under the pressuring stare, Nagisa slowly, and uncomfortably swallows the food in his mouth.

Unexpectedly, George bows his head so that his forehead is almost touching the table:

"We're now just 9 days away from The Caretakers kidnappin' day. While I still have the chance, I wanted to personally thank you, boy… no, young man, for giving me hope that I'll be able to see my daughter again, alive. You're a brave lad, and I'll be indebted to you for the rest of my life, so if there's anything you need-"

"A-ah no please, raise your head! Really it's no big deal! I can't even guarantee I'll be successful!" He replies in a fluster.

George finally raises his head and smiles, his eyes moist with the formation of tears.

"I have no doubt you'll get the job done boy - the fact that Karasuma sees something in you is more than enough to validate you in my eyes"

Nagisa looks at me skeptically, but I nod in concurrence with Geroge's statement, causing Nagisa blushes in embarrassment. Strangely, he takes a sudden deep breath and clenches his eyes shut:

"I-I'll do my best then!" He exclaims, with a surprising amount of determination.

"Good to hear!" George beams, reaching across the table to ruffle Nagisa's hair.

"Well then, I'm glad I was able to catch you guys before I headed out…" He trails off while getting up.

I shoot him a perplexed look:

"Heading out? Where are you going? You're not even staying to survey the rescue mission of your daughter?" I ask incredulously. George frowns.

"Karasuma, what kind of a monster do you think I am? I'll be back long before the operation starts, and you better believe I won't be able to sleep a wink for days leading up to it. I just have a few matters to attend to in Korea"

"Korea?" Nagisa reiterates.

"Aye lad. I won't be long. See ya around then" He bows politely, hurrying off before I can ask any more questions. Just as I think about getting up and chasing after him, a slim waitress suddenly blocks my vision:

"Pardon the wait sir, here is your food!" She explains cheerfully, delicately setting down a platter of ribs and a beer. I crane my neck to see around her bent over form - but George is nowhere in sight. What the hell does he have to do that's so important in Korea?

I'm pulled from my thoughts as the delicious scent of my ribs wafts into my nose, making me salivate in anticipation. I look at Nagisa, who's reclined back in his seat with a satisfied expression, sighing contentedly from his meal.

I frown slightly.

Just 9 days, huh…

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 **POV Karma**

 _Gasp!_

I inhale sharply and bolt upright, eyes darting around frantically.

Immediately, a crippling pain pulses through my side and I'm forced to lie back down, struggling to breathe.

A dark room. Am I on the verge of death again?

No, this doesn't feel like that time with korosensei. This feels like the real world: the pain, at least, is very reminiscent of reality.

As my eyes slowly adjust to the darkness I look around, and feel the surface upon which I lay. An operating table? Where the hell am I?

Slowly and carefully, I sit upright, steadying myself with both arms. The pain returns, but this time gradually, and so I can tolerate it much better.

Suddenly a door swings open and two men walk in.

"Ah, he's awake!" Cries a blonde haired man in a white coat, presumably a doctor.

Behind him…

"Karasuma-sensei…?"

The doctor reaches my side and places a stethoscope to my chest, the cold chill of metal making me wince.

"Stable, albeit a little slow, heartbeat… nothing for concern. How do you feel?" He asks

"Everything's just peachy" I mutter bitterly. A small smile creeps on the doctors face.

"Could you give me something a bit more concrete than that? Are you cold? Light-headed? Weak?"

"Thirsty, I guess"

"Ah! I'll tell the nurse to get you some water. It'll be important to increase your intake of fluids over the next 24 hours" he lectures me: "I was just about to change your IV, but I suppose since you are awake, stable, and coherent, perhaps you'd prefer to eat real food?"

"Um, yeah, sure…" I offer dismissively, shooting a glance at Karasuma.

"Anything you'd like in particular?"

Annoyed by this tedious conversation, I grit my teeth.

"...meat. Any meat, I don't care" I seethe.

"Ah… very well then, I'll be back momentarily" the doctor nods his head before turning to face Karasuma

"Don't stay too long, he'll have some food and then he needs to sleep"

"Understood" Karasuma nods. Satisfied with his answer, the doctor leaves.

"I'll go and get Nagisa, he's been waiting all day for you to wake up" Karasuma informs me.

"All day…?"

"You've been out for about 21 hours now"

"Urk… a whole day wasted…"

"I'm not sure if recovering from a fatal wound would count as a 'waste' of a day" Karasuma chuckles quietly.

Suddenly, an important question pops into my mind.

"Where are we?"

"Konugigaoka's training facility"

Ah, I should've known. Vague memories of a car chase, swerving sharply swirl in my head…

I unconsciously place a hand over my stab wound.

The one who stabbed me… the more I replay the incident in my head, the more I'm convinced it was her.

I bite my lower lip. Karasuma must notice my look of consternation and tilts his head slightly.

"Should I get the doctor?"

"Karasuma… the one who stabbed me…" I begin, ignoring his question

Tension fills the air, and hesitation creeps into my voice. Karasuma arches an eyebrow and awaits my continuation.

"It was Kayano, sensei, I'm sure of it"

"!" His eyes widen in shock before they narrow, almost sympathetically:

"Karma, do you think that there's a chance you simply imagined-"

"No, it's not like that dammit! It wasn't a trauma induced trick of the mind! I've replayed the incident in my head over and over!" I assure resolutely.

"... How? From what you and Nagisa told me about what happened…" he trails off doubtfully.

I shake my head and swallow gravely.

"I know, I don't know how but it was definitely her"

Karasuma finds a chair against the wall behind him and practically falls into hit. He anxiously runs a hand through his hair.

"But why would she stab you…" He trails off, regarding me with a serious and calculating glint in his eyes:

"I'll ask again: are you absolutely certain it was Kayano?"

I nod my head immediately.

"I saw her face, clear as day, sensei. And I'd recognize her green hair in that trademark style any day. It was definitely Kayano, without a d-"

Just then the door swings open violently, clamorously crashing into the wall. My head whirls around in response to the noise, expecting to see the overbearing doctor.

My heart flutters in panic and my eyes widen in surprise. In the corner of my eyes, I see Karasuma bolt up from his chair.

"Nagisa!" He exclaims

Standing in the doorway is Nagisa. He looks between Karasuma and I with teary eyes and a pained expression etched into his face.

The expression of someone who feels betrayed at the deepest level

Speechless, I simply stare at him.

"...How much did you hear?" I ask cautiously. He locks eyes with me.

"... why didn't you tell me right away?"

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	32. Chapter 32

**A Darker Path**

TheReaperCometh

 **A/N:** sorry I'm a week late on this one... but rejoice! This chapter re-introduces a familiar face...

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Chapter 32

"System Online"

 **POV Karma**

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There stands Nagisa in the doorway, looking back and forth between me and Karasuma with hurt filled eyes.

"N-Nagisa!" I cry in out in surprise.

We shouldn't have been talking about Kayano so loudly!

This must look bad through his perspective: as though Karasuma and I are scheming some sort of subterfuge against him. And while that isn't the case at all, the look of betrayal reflected in his gaze still sends a pang of guilt through my chest.

"How could you…" He seethes, with clenched fists and a trembling body. I swallow my viscous saliva, unable to think of anything to say or do that could salvage the situation.

"How come you didn't tell me right away…" He continues in a soft whisper.

Karasuma takes a tentative step forward.

"Nagisa, listen-"

"Sensei, you promised earlier!" He whines petulantly, crossing his arms while sticking his bottom lip out.

...

Karasuma and I exchange confused looks through the corner of our eyes.

"...eh?" Karasuma lets out.

Nagisa sighs heavily, closing his eyes while muttering something along the lines of 'don't give me that 'eh' bullcrap' under his breath.

"Karasuma, you said earlier we would go see Karma TOGETHER, and that you would let me know as soon as he was awake!"

A moment of silence. Nagisa glances between us discerningly and arches an eyebrow.

"What's up with you guys? Do I have something on my face?" He asks in a worried tone.

Karasuma and i let out a sigh of relief in unison, much to Nagisa's chagrin.

"Ah right, that…" Karasuma finally speaks up, scratching the back of his head: "sorry, I didn't mean to leave you in the dark. I had no intention of coming to see Karma without you, I just wanted to talk to the doctor who happened to be on his way here, and so I accompanied him"

"Uh huh, I bet" Nagisa says doubtfully.

An irrepressible smile forms on my lips. Nagisa didn't hear us talking about Kayano, thank God… he really doesn't need that kind of burdensome stimulus right now.

"What are you smiling about?" Nagisa asks dubiously, stirring me from my thoughts.

"Oh nothin', just… happy to see you, I guess"

My excuse seems to have assuaged his skepticism, and he beams back at me with a happy grin:

"Well I'm just glad you're okay, if for no other reason than the fact that I'm desperate to have someone else around that Karasuma can pick on… training was brutal today" he pouts.

I tentatively look up at Karasuma. He looks to me and merely shrugs, but I'm able to perceive a smug smile tugging at the corners of his mouth. Gulp.

"Er, yeah, about that Nagisa… I don't think I'll be ready to start training for another week or so" I confess.

The color drains from Nagisa's face in that instant.

"No way…" He breathes out, slumping against the wall behind him in defeat.

"Oh come on, there's not need to be dramatic. You've been through worse, haven't you?" Karasuma asks in a slightly annoyed tone.

"Well let's see: today, I: " He begins counting on his fingers: "- almost got stabbed in the chest by a serrated knife, I almost died on the treadmill when you suddenly cranked the speed up to max and turned the lights off, I came THIS close to getting crushed by a GIANT boulder, I was almost shot in the head, TWICE, once on the firing range, and once during your sketchy-as-hell 'reflex training'"

Huh? What was that about a giant boulder now?

"Well, it did hone your reflexes, didn't it? And the bullets we used for that exercise are designed to be slower and less aerodynamic: less penetrative force for training purposes, they don't inflict lethal wounds in most cases" Karasuma interjects with a matter of fact tone.

 _Most_ cases?! I frantically look between Nagisa and Karasuma

"Giant… boulder? Reflex training?!" I ask in a panicked tone, my head swirling with images of Nagisa running away from a trigger happy Karasuma riding atop a giant rolling boulder

"Oh right, how could I forget! And to top it all off, I almost drowned too!" Nagisa concludes emphatically.

"Now you're just nitpicking" Karasuma says defensively: "I was right there, you know I wouldn't have let you drown"

"Well, see, originally I did think that, but then you nonchalantly just left Irina to drown in the middle of pool without so much as a second thought, so now I'm not so sure!" He protests.

"Wow...I really missed a lot of excitement in one day, huh? Kinda makes me feel left out" I mutter sarcastically.

"Don't worry Karma, there's plenty more fun to be had in the coming months" Karasuma assures confidently.

I smile hopelessly at my peerlessly dense teacher. Sometimes I wonder if he was the inspiration for the creation of the r/whoosh subreddit.

" 'Fun', he says…" Nagisa grumbles: "I'd have just about as much fun sticking my head in a beehive…"

Just then the door creaks open quietly and the doctor from before walks in, carefully clutching a tray of food. Since when do doctors do this sort of thing? Isn't getting food and such for patients something the nurse usually does? What a weirdo.

"Oh, hey. Sorry to rain on your parade, but I'm going to have to ask you two to leave - visitation hours for this patient are officially over, doctor's orders!" He adds sternly, before breaking his facade and letting out a chuckle.

"Eh? But I just got here!" Nagisa exclaims pleadingly.

"Understood, sorry for our disturbance" Karasuma replies with a respectful bow, before promptly grabbing Nagisa by the shoulder and dragging him out of the room.

"Huh - hey wait! Ow, Ow Ow!" Nagisa protests, yelping in response to Karasuma's vice grip. His cries echo further and further away down the corridor.

"Let me know immediately if there's a change in his condition" I hear Karasuma call out.

"Leave it to me!" The doctor cries happily before closing the door.

He approaches me with the tray and sets it on my lap: a well done steak, mashed potatoes, and sauteed mushrooms. It smells heavenly. I eye the food greedily.

"Try to eat as much as you can, and make sure to drink most of this-" He places a one litre bottle of water. "Proper hydration will be critical for a speedy recovery. After you're done eating, go right to sleep. Press the emergency button on the bedside remote if you need anything, and one of nurses will assist you in any way possible. Goodnight"

"Yeah, good night…" I reply dazily, rubbing the drool off the corners of my mouth. To be honest, I didn't really hear a thing he just told me, I just want to eat.

Just as the doctor is about to open the door and leave, he turns around to face me:

"Incidentally… just out of curiosity, is your hair naturally that red?"

"Uhhhh... yeah. Jealous?" I reply jokingly. But what a weird question to ask suddenly.

"ahaha...interesting… oh!" He gasps as he notices my skeptical expression: "Don't take it the wrong way or anything. It's just that I've never seen such naturally vibrant hair as yours before without the use of dye… same goes for your blue haired friend. Have you ever considered donating your hair? Or, actually, since natural, uniquely bright colored hair is widely sought after by balding aristocrats, you could probably even sell it for quite a bit! You'd definitely make someone suffering from disease-treatment hair loss or premature balding very happy, hahaha"

As if the conversation hadn't taken a weird enough turn already, his mood suddenly seems to plummet, causing a lump to form in my throat.

"Red, blue… and green. Yes, three very sought after colors for wigs. Especially green… there have even been instances where people have stripped uniquely colored hair from the heads of the deceased… such occurrences have really brought a certain aspect of ethics to the 'natural' wig undustry, which is why most use artificial hair" he says ominously.

I stare at him blankly. What an oddly morbid thing to say out of the blue. An awkward silence descends upon us. After a few seconds, I can no longer bear it -

"You... sure know a lot about wigs" I offer lamely.

"Yes I suppose I do. Or rather, I have a... colleague, of mine, who does, and has apparently rubbed off on me more than I thought! Ah, anyway, forgive my strangeness… it's just I have a few patients who are in need of hair, but one of them is allergic to the typical fibers which make up most synthetic-hair wigs, so she's in need of natural hair… she was also a redhead, almost as vibrant as you in fact, and she said she'd love to be able to get hair as similar as possible to her own… ah listen to me prattle on about hair… please, forget I said anything. Have a good rest" He says warmly, and as he exits the room, he dims the lights in the room to a sleep-inducing level.

My eyelids suddenly feel extremely heavy, and I barely manage to set my food tray on the bedside table before I slip out of consciousness.

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 **POV Karasuma**

I finally get back to my room and take a seat on the edge of my bed while undoing my tie. I wear a tie almost every day, but sometimes, when I'm exceedingly tired, it's the most mundane of tasks which can prove to be the most challenging. And I've been running on fumes since we got here.

After fumbling with my tie tiredly for a few seconds, I feel a pair of hands wrap around me from behind, as slender fingers grasp at my collar.

"Need some help?" A breathy whisper tickles my ear.

"..." I say nothing in response, I merely continue to look forward as the deft fingers expertly get to work. I feel the piece of fabric loosen from my neck and slip to the floor.

"...Thanks" I mutter.

"No problem!" Irina cries cheerfully.

"Hey, do you want me to take over tomorrow's lesson for you?"

I look over my shoulder at the blonde twiddling her thumbs anxiously, refusing to meet my gaze.

"Do I really look like I'm in that bad of shape? Thanks, but I can't afford to take a break now, not right before Nagisa's big solo mission. Maybe you can join us in the afternoon though"

"I wasn't suggesting I take over the training for your sake. Rather, I was considering the poor boy being subjected to your tyranny" She clarifies.

I turn around to face her.

"Hoh? Tyranny, is it?"

She smiles playfully "It is. And by the way…" she trails off.

Spontaneously, she lunges forward, and through a mix of exhaustion and unexpectance, I'm unable to react time, and Irina pushes me down on the bed.

"Irina-!" I cry out sluggishly as she mounts on top of me.

She presses a finger against my lips, silencing my protests in an instant.

"I still haven't forgiven you for leaving me to drown earlier!" She hisses from above.

"Correct me if I'm wrong, but you seem to be alive right now"

"That isn't the point! And if it weren't for the saintly pool cleaner who happened to come by shortly after you left, who threw me a pool noodle to cling too - I might have actually died! I still remember that sympathetic, pitying look he gave me as he wordlessly passed it to me… ahhhh it was so humiliating!" She whines while beginning to slam her fists repeatedly into my chest, like a child throwing a tantrum.

"I-Irina, could you stop-"

"No, you don't understand! It took me a full twenty minutes after receiving the pool noodle to muster enough energy to get out of the pool! And the pool cleaner didn't even leave - he just kept going on with his business, IGNORING ME, while I was floating around on a pink noodle ON DEATH'S DOOR!" Irina then lost the will to strike me anymore and simply collapsed on top of me, her head falling on my chest. Then, in a somber, deadpan tone she continues:

"He just continued mopping around the pool area, refusing to make eye contact and purposefully avoiding my gaze… occasionally though his eyes would meat mine and he would purse his lips scornfully and shake his head disapprovingly before turning away… when I finally got out after what felt like an eternity, on wobbly legs, he finally looked to me and nodded in approval"

"W-well that's good, I guess" I offer, a bit unnerved and unsure of how to react to her story.

"But then, after flashing him a triumphant smile, I took one step forward and slipped on a spot the had just mopped… and I fell into the water again" she begins to quiver.

"Irina… are you… crying right n-"

"I was in the water for another 15 minutes, Karasuma, until I was able to heave my waterlogged, wrinkly self out of the pool again! And you know what that man said, Karasuma? You know what he had the audacity to say?!" She finally lifts her head up from my chest and looks to me with dead, soulless eyes.

"Wh-what did he say?" I ask

Her face plummets back into my chest and her monotonous voice returns.

"After everything he had witnessed, he had to audacity to then ask "are you alright ma'am?" "

"..."

"Ahhhhh! I can never show my face around that pool again, I think I might just die if I bump into that cleaner again!" Her shame-fueled energy returns and she begins pounding away at my chest once again.

Suddenly, my phone begins ringing. We both jump and tense up initially.

"I guess we're both a bit jumpy today…" Irina reasons while climbing off of me.

"And rightfully so…" I say distractedly while pulling my phone out.

George. I shoot upright like a rocket, much to Irina's surprise. I simply raise a finger in front of her face to silence her and quickly press the phone against the side of my head. This could be important information on the impending operation. Maybe something unexpected has happened.

"George, what's going on"

"Oi, Karasuma, sorry for calling you so late, but I figured you would want to get this sooner rather than later" He says. From the casual tone of his voice, I can at least tell that nothing bad has happened. I sigh in relief.

"Ah no problem, I was wide awake anyway. What do you got for me?"

"I'm sending you an email right now with an attached link. Click on it - I'm sure it, er, she, will help you and the boys out in future"

"She?" I ask curiously. Irina also cocks her head to the side.

"Yeah, you're definitely familiar with her - you've worked with her in the past, along with your students" George reassures.

Now my interest has been fully piqued. Someone that both myself and the students of E class has worked with before? That certainly narrows it down, but I can't think of anyone.

My phone beeps with news of a new email.

"George, who is-"

"Ah sorry, my flight is starting and this lovely lil attendant is asking me to put my phone away. Just click on the link you neurotic bastard - tell the boy I said thanks again, I'll be back in five days"

Call ended. I lower the phone from my head and Irina stares at me expectantly.

"Well? Don't leave me hanging"

"He said he found an ally for our coming mission… someone we've worked with before"

I hurriedly go to my emails and tap on the most recent one.

Irina peers over my shoulder in anticipation.

* * *

Subject - A.I.F.A

It took some time but some of the big brains were finally able to recover its, er, her, system from what they managed to scrounge up from the hospital ruins. I've spoken with her myself, and she's very eager to see you again. The director felt she would be a vital asset in the coming mission.

Technology is amazing, eh?

Needless to say, do not share the following link with anyone other than those you would trust with your life.

And Director Shinji would like to have a meeting with you first thing in the morning, at 0900 hours. Don't be late. Information too important to discuss online or on the phone.

Cheers, and thanks again.

* * *

Irina and I exchange a look of bewilderment.

"AIFA… why does that acronym seem so familiar to me?" I mutter.

Irina shakes her head: "It sounds… vaguely nostalgic, doesn't it? AIFA…" she repeats, trying to jog her memory.

"Well, there's only one way to find out" I say as I confidently tap on the link.

Buffering…

We both hold our breath in anticipation.

Bzzzzt!

My phone suddenly shuts off. No, actually, it's just restarting.

...

"Ahhhh Karasuma why does your phone take so long to restart!"

"It's only been about10 seconds…" I sigh

…

"Boot up sequence initiated" A female voice echos out from my phone. I look to Irina to confirm that I wasn't just hearing things, but she's glaring too intently at my phone to notice.

"Running diagnostics… Preparing interface… Data transfer initiated…" the female voice continues to ring out.

Silence…

"System Online" The voice finally announces after what feels like an immeasurable amount of time.

"Karasuma!" Irina excitedly shakes my shoulder.

"What is it?" I ask in alarm.

"I knew that voice sounded familiar! We've heard it before! Karasuma, it's-!" Irina begins excitedly, but is cut off as my screen suddenly bursts to life with flamboyant colors.

"Good evening, Karasuma-sensei! It's been too long!" A cheerful voice calls out from my hand, dragging my attention away from Irina.

My eyes widen.

A young girl wearing a modest school uniform fills my screen. Behind her is a luscious garden, filled with flowers, bushes and trees - I can hear birds chirping and the rustling of foliage.

The girl's long purple hair flutters loftily, rhythmically, in the virtual breeze, and she stares back at me with piercing sky blue eyes - despite her being an A.I, her stare conveys an indescribably genuine and life-like warmth.

That warmth courses through my body, gathering and swelling within my heart.

"Ritsu…" I mutter out in disbelief. The girl on screen strikes a dramatic pose, one hand on her hip and the other raised to the sky.

"Hai! Ritsu-chan - once known as Autonomously Intelligent Fixed Artillery - is at your service once again!"

.

.

 **POV Nagisa**

After an hour of deliberation as to whether or not I should sneak down to the infirmary to see Karma again, I finally decide against it. No need to cause unnecessary trouble for Karasuma or that nice doctor. Plus, I've at least confirmed that Karma is making a full recovery, and he probably needs all the undisturbed rest he can get.

Ah… I can finally get to sleep. Peaceful mind: check. No light: check. Safe environment: check. Quietness: check. Comfy bed: check. This may be the first night in a while I'll actually wake up from feeling fully rested and-

Ting!

"Gah!" my heart leaps out of my chest. My eyes fall upon my culpable phone's lit up screen.

I slap myself in the forehead and brush the hair out of my face. Of course, why WOULD I be able to get a good night sleep for once. Irately, I seize my phone and pull it under the covers with me.

"Karasuma sensei? At this hour?"

* * *

Karasuma sensei (1:13)

I assume you're sleeping and won't get this message until morning-

I sigh. Thanks sensei. I continue reading.

-but I figured you'd want this as soon as possible, and I won't be there in the morning when you get up. Something came up at HQ and I need to attend a last minute meeting. Do not under any circumstance leave the training grounds. Irina will be taking over training tomorrow.

* * *

And then, a peculiar link…

"AIFA… I've heard that before..."

My eyes widen. Could it be?!

How could I forget the old name of a fellow classmate?

I hurriedly press on the link, my heart racing.

.

.

.

"... System Online"

I wipe the tears forming in my eyes. My screen bursts to life, and I instantly recognize the purple haired girl displayed on my screen. My hand begin trembling and I break down, sobbing, uncontrollably.

"R-ritsu-chan, it's really you!" I choke out.

I must be dreaming.

Finally another remnant of E-class has been returned to my life… a fellow classmate who survived.

A close friend.

Karma and I… we're not alone anymore!

She smiles back warmly, lovingly, and my heart melts.

"Nagisa-kun!" She exclaims.

"B-but how? I thought your entire unit exploded in the hospital that day…" I cry out in astonishment, furiously wiping at my blurry eyes.

Ritsu scratches her cheek and looks away sheepishly:

"It did, and that's why I've been offline until now, but somehow… my primary hard drive and memory card were both intact, and from those, the nice government technicians were able to rebuild me! I only suffered a 10% loss in data during the reconstruction process" She beams happily.

"You… didn't lose any memories from E-class did you?" I ask hesitantly. To my delight, Ritsu shakes her head:

"Of course not, I would never allow that data to become corrupted… everything I did during my time in E-class make up my most important, cherished memories… I'd be fine with losing all my programmed data related to making calculations, synthesizing and firing weapons, and assassination... That data can easily be reprogrammed into me at any time… But the time I spent with you and everyone else in E-class is irreplaceable!"

"Ritsu…I-"

"Nagisa, there's something I need to say" She interjects in a serious tone.

"Nagisa… I'm so sorry!" She suddenly cries out.

A lump forms in my throat at her sudden apology. She continues in a shaky voice.

"I'm sorry… that I wasn't able to protect our friends that day! I'm sorry that I wasn't able to do more on the mountain, or in the hospital! I should've been able to detect the explosive device within the hospital… I should've taken better security measures to ensure that nothing could've happened that day! I should've-!"

"Ritsu!" I scream out in a trembling voice.

She lowers her head in shame - her tears, sparkling in the sunlight, dribble down to her chin, only to be quickly whisked away by the wind and carried off screen.

Now most people would easily discount and discredit any tears shed by a computer system - because obviously, an A.I can't have emotions, or feel shame, or worthlessness.

But I know better.

However virtual those tears may be, I know they're just as wet, bitter, and genuine as my own.

"Don't… don't ever say you're sorry again Ritsu, do you understand?!" I wail in a hushed tone.

"There's nothing anyone could've done that day… not me, not you, not our teachers, not even the government… nobody is at fault, so you better not blame yourself, do you understand?!"

As soon as the words leave my mouth, it hits me - the sheer hypocrisy! I've been struggling in vain for weeks, just barely managing to suppress the debilitating guilt I've been harboring, allowing to fester deep within my soul all this time. I rub my wrists subconsciously, as I think back to the time I had almost slit them open during one of my first nights at Karasuma's.

With the sudden realization that I myself have still not overcome my guilt, I begin choking up, nearly losing the ability to breathe. I press my face into my pillow so as to silence my pathetic sounds and prevent Ritsu from seeing my pitiable expression.

But then again, Ritsu is a close friend and fellow classmate with similar feelings, my fear of being pitied or judged by her is unfounded.

"H-hai… I understand" she sobs.

A somber atmosphere falls between us - the only sounds to be heard are our shared whimperings and sniffles, coupled with the quiescent rustling of vegetation from her background.

We both run out of tears at nearly the same time and tiredly look at one another - almost mirror images of each other: red eyes, tear stains on our cheeks, messy hair, and quivering lips.

And then we laugh.

"Hah… we're a real mess aren't we" I sputter out.

"Ehehe… we certainly are. But at least we're a mess together" she adds.

I nod my head in agreement. And then an idea suddenly comes to mind.

"Ritsu… you recorded a lot of our time together spent as a class right?"

She forms a bright smile and wipes away the final tears from her eyes.

"Of course. I recorded nearly every second we spent together as a class: at first for the purpose of being able to capture korosensei's every move and better analyze ways to assassinate him… but then I chose to record everything because I simply never wanted to forget anything - the good or the bad - from the time I spent in E-class"

I smile.

"T-then… would you mind taking me for a stroll down memory lane?" I ask

She nods knowingly.

"Is there a particular event you wish to watch?"

"There are so many I'd love to see… how about to start… that time Kayano took charge for the first time, and we spent an entire afternoon building one of the world's largest puddings"

"Understood. Beginning playback"

And so began our night of reminiscing - for hours and hours Ritsu and I laughed, cried, cringed, and felt nostalgic together.

It wasn't until 5 in the morning that I finally passed out from mental exhaustion on a tear soaked pillow.

With a smile on my face.

 **.**

 **.**

 **.**

 **POV Karasuma**

Ding!

The elevator opens up and I step out onto the top floor of the Ministry of Defense HQ. I glance at my watch - 8:55 a.m. Perfect timing. I casually but confidently walk straight towards Shinji's office. I nod cordially to everyone I pass before finally coming to my destination. I raise my hand to knock on the door, but before my knuckle strikes the metal:

"Come in Karasuma" comes a booming voice from within

"Hai. pardon my intrusion, sir" I say while stepping inside.

"Have a seat will you?" He offers, motioning towards the empty chair in front of him.

"Thank you sir".

I sit down.

Silence.

Nearly an entire minute passes.

"Sir?" I venture trepidatiously.

Finally, he wordlessly opens up a drawer and withdraws a thin black folder. He passes it to me and offers a single oder:

"Take a look"

I open it up.

Inside is a single document, the profile of a man of seemingly european origin, based on his appearance in the mugshot.

Benjamin Wilco

Age 32

Affiliation: The Caretakers

Captured and detained by KPD officers at 5:56 p.m, 05/12/2017

…

I scan through the rest of the folder before looking back up at Director Shinji.

"Sir, I'm not sure I follow" I admit, half expecting him to reprehend me.

"That's because the most important information regarding that man is not contained within that document"

I blink in confusion.

"Then why did you have me-"

"It's tomorrow" He suddenly interjects while biting his lower lip and anxiously cracking the joints of his fingers.

"What is Tomorrow?" I repeat.

"They caught wind of us discovering their plans" He states plainly. My eyes widen.

"You don't mean…" I trail off. He nods grimly.

"That's right. There's been a change of plan. From that man described in the folder, we learned that The Caretakers roundup has been pushed one week ahead of schedule at the last second in an attempt to throw us off"

I gulp incredulously. This can't be happening… I feel dizzy.

"Get Nagisa ready. Assuming he's still willing to go through with it, his operation begins - and ends - tomorrow. May God be with him"

.

.

.


	33. Chapter 33

**A Darker Path**

TheReaperCometh

" **The End"**

 ***important, please read until the end, especially if you are interested in finding out how this story was intended to end***

 **A/N: To everyone reading this: thank you for making it this far! I set out to write this story well over a year ago - originally, I had no idea that this fanfiction would end up being over 100,000 words. I didn't think my story would become so popular either - just hit 100 favorites a few days ago, which is a monumental milestone and achievement for me, seeing as this is my first piece of work on this site, and especially since this isn't a particularly popular or mainstream fandom, per say.**

 **Which is why, it pains me all the more to have to end this story here, incomplete and unfinished.**

 **I had set out to write this story on a whim - brimming with both passion for the series and disappointment for its conclusion…**

 **And for over a year, that passion didn't wane. I'm sure, if you're an OG reader, you'll remember how the first 20 chapters of this story were posted with consistent regularity: I rarely missed a single update date, and posted a new chapter nearly every week without fail, sometimes even sooner.**

 **But… as I'm sure you've also noticed, just as much, I've been much less punctual on update times in recent months (which I'm very sorry about, still)... I believe I've only posted 5-6 chapters since the start of 2019, an utterly abysmal update rate. And yes, I can put the blame on school, and work, and any other plausible excuse out there. But truth be told, the reason behind my lack of consistent updating is simple…**

 **The passion has died.**

 **I've matured a lot these past two years, and have watched and read a lot more things that I now feel more passionate about than assassination classroom right now.**

 **Writing chapters for this story now feels like a chore, and honestly, mentally exhausting, which I REALLY noticed when trying to write chapters 29-33 (34? Cant even remember which one I'm on even as I'm typing this). I spent many tireless nights typing, and retyping, deleting, and starting from scratch, over and over because I wasn't happy with the results, simply because I was unable to put my passion and energy into what I was writing.**

 **Everything I churned out seemed lackluster and bland compared to my earlier chapters… I wasnt happy with how the last few chapters have turned out, but simply forced myself to hit publish on them because of some sense of commitment I felt to the dozens of people still reading.**

 **And so I'm stopping it here, because it's not fair for me, or for any of you to continue this. I don't want to publish half-assed, lazy chapters for months and months with long update droughts - you don't deserve to have to read junk like that.**

 **And because I love this story, I don't want to see it end that way.**

 **And I know how unfulfilling this all seems, and so now, I will divulge how the story was going to end and tie up any loose ends:**

 **In terms of how the "Caretaker Arc" was going to end: Nagisa was going to be kidnapped, brought to their HQ, at which point he was going to confront Takaoka, alongside the old snake-cane assassin from much earlier in this story, and Kayano - who, is in fact, simply a doppelganger used by Takaoka in an attempt to traumatize Nagisa (the girl who stabbed Karma during the house raid a while back was not actually Kayano, just a girl with a wig, which was alluded to by the strange doctor's speech while talking with Karma) - the real Kayano died back in chapter 4): So when Nagisa confronts Takaoka in the Caretakers HQ, Takaoka slices her throat open in front of him. Nagisa falls into a state of despair thinking it's the real Kayano, and doesn't bother putting up any resistance as Takaoka begins to brutally beat him. Ritsu however, manages to get a GPS signal through to the outside, and Karma, along with Karasuma leading an elite squad of soldiers, break in to rescue him. A bloody battle ensues (which I attempted to write MANY times, but was never pleased with the result), resulting in the capture of the old man and the leader of the Caretakers - but Takaoka escapes yet again. And yes, Geroge's daughter is returned safely. This sequence of events, including the wrap-up chapter, would've lasted 4 chapters.**

 **The next arc was going to be the 'professional assassin arc', fast-forwarding in time by a month after the Caretaker HQ operation: this was going to span for about 5 chapters, each one detailing a stand-alone, exclusive mission of Nagisa and Karma as professional assassins. Each one would've been in a different country, with a different kind of target: an untouchable terrorist in the middle east, a war-mongering general in Russia, A dangerous mafia boss in Italy, and I was even thinking of making one of the assassination attempts a light-hearted joke in commemoration of hitting 100 favorites, in which Karma and Nagisa set out to assassinate Donald Trump.**

 **Finally the final arc of the story: Takaoka finally gets his hand on another tentacle serum, and begins rampaging throughout all of Tokyo while Nagisa and Karma are away on another mission. They rush back eagerly, and finally come to their final confrontation with Takaoka: here, due to the nature of the trap they set (a miniaturized, remote- activatable Spear and Shield entrapment like the one used on Korosensei) to capture and finally kill Takaoka, the man responsible for all of Karma and Nagisa's suffering, someone must act as bait to lure the crazed serum-jacked Takaoka in, effectively sacrificing themselves. (Because unlike korosensei who was content and peaceful at the time of this, the deranged and wild Takaoka would explode upon death, obliterating everything within a close proximity). Nagisa and Karma fall into a big argument over who should be the bait… Nagisa eventually concedes that Karma can do it… or at least he pretended too. Nagisa attempts to sneak out late at night and confront Takaoka alone in order to take him down - he is prepared to die. But of course, Karma, expected this, and at the last second, pushes Nagisa out of the way and traps himself within the cage of light. Nagisa, infuriated by this development, threatens to stay until the bitter end, meaning tthat if Karma didn't let him do it, then they'd both have to die, - however, (and kudos to Videocrazy for calling this in one of his/her reviews a while back) Karma brings up the bet they made aaaaaaaaaaaaall those months ago, on who could take out the most soldiers in the forest on their way up the mountain to see korosensei - Karma reminds him that he never claimed his reward for that, and also reminds Nagisa how he had promised he would do whatever Karma asked of him without hesitation.**

" **Nagisa, remember that bet we made? On the mountain?" Karma suddenly says with a mischeivous grin**

" **W-what the hell are you talking about, at a time like this?" I seethe in anger**

" **I never did cash in on my reward from that day… I've been saving it for a time like this"**

 **My [Nagisa] eyes widen in remembrance and bitter tears begin to trickle down my face**

" **N-no Karma, that's dirty! You can't-!"**

" **You promised - whatever, I ask of you, no hesitation: you promised me up on the rooftop, Nagisa!"**

 **.**

 **.**

 **.**

 **After a teary, intimate, emotional goodbye and a confession of brotherly love for each other, Nagisa runs away, clearing the blast zone, with clenched eyes and a broken heart.**

 **Karma then activates the spear, Takaoka dies, and as expected, Karma is caught up in the resulting blast at point blank and perishes: his soul then reunites with Korosensei and the other students of E-class, who, as it turns out, had been watching Nagisa and Karma all along. This would have been approximately 3 chapters**

 **5\. And then finally I would have had a final chapter: an epilogue, fast forwarding ten years from now: Nagisa has fallen off the radar completely, and nobody, not Karasuma or Irina, or anyone else for that matter, have seen him since the night Karma died. after continuing on being a master assassin, eventually took up the title of 'The Reaper', and was widely considered to be the best assassin on the entire planet for almost decade, he finally retires, sheathing his blade for one final time. (He never failed an operation he was assigned to, and, as skilled as he was, made millions of dollars in the decade that we worked, so he could retire so early).**

 **He revisits Kunugigaoka finally, and drops by unexpectedly at Karasuma's house:**

 **Karasuma sensei opens the door, and his eyes widen.**

 **The sight of blue hair makes his heart skip a beat and tears well up in his eyes in recognition.**

" **Yo, Karasuma-sen-" Nagisa starts to greet him awkwardly before being dragged into a tight embrace.**

" **W-where have you been, all this time… i thought…" Karasuma asks, not wanting to let go.**

 **Nagisa is happy to find that Karasuma and Irina have been married for 9 years now, and have a 6 year old daughter, who they named Kayano in honor of you know who.**

 **They reminisce, laugh, and cry about the past. Karasuma tells Nagisa that he should at least stay the night, but Nagisa declines, saying there's somewhere he has to be right now.**

 **And so he takes a slow, nostalgic walk back up Kunugigaoka's mountain and up to end-class - which he finds is now completely dilapidated and about to be demolished, after an educational reform occurred at kunugigaoka.**

 **He gazes up at the starry night sky, and quietly whispers.**

" **Thank you, korosensei" He quietly whispers himself.**

" **I'll see you soon.**

 **With nothing left to cling to in life, and no regrets, Nagisa is ready to leave this world and join his family after all these years.**

 **He unsheathes his blade for the final time**

 **And at last, the reaper reaps one last soul**

 **.**

 **THE END**

 **(In case that was too poetic for you, yes, he kills himself).**

 **.**

 **.**

 **.**

 **So again, thank you everyone, who has read this far. I'm sorry it had to be this way.**

 **I may return to Assassination classroom one day and write another fanfiction - but I know that won't be for quite some time.**

 **If you're not to mad at me about this, and you would not be opposed to reading other stuff by me, please feel free to follow me as an author: and maybe even start reading an Overlord fanfiction I just started writing last week, if you're interested.**

 **Cheers**

 **TheReaperCometh.**


End file.
